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OUATORS 



AMERICAN REYOLTJTION 




S_AiMir3<3nj i^AIIDi\MS5o 



^y. 



Cl^1^1^ ^ 



'^^^Z^ 



OKATORS 



OF THE 



AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



BY 



E. V: M AGO ON 




NEW YORK: 
BAKER AND SCRIBNER, 

36 PARK ROW AND 145 NASSAU STREET. 

1848. 



:^ '^C) ^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by 

BAKER AND SCRIBNF.R, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. 



C. W. BKNFn'CT, 

Stercotijpci' and i"?'jn/fr, 

11 i^pruce sticet. 



7 



STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT DRONES, 

CHRISTIANS WHO ARE NOT BIGOTS, 

AND 

CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT DEMAGOGUES, 

myiB asoofe is aarspcctfulls Xnscraelr. 



LIST OF PLATES. 



FACINO FAQE 



L Samuel Adams, 95 

XL Joseph Warren, 155 

in. Patrick Henry, 234 

IV, Alexander Hamilton, 283 

V. Fisher Ames, 3.11 

VI. John Randolph, 421 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 1. 

THE BATTLE-FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELO- 
QUENCE. 



II. 

JAMES OTIS, 

ORATOR OF INTREPID PASSION. 



III. 

SAMUEL ADAMS, 

LAST OF THE PURITANS. 



IV. 

JOSIAH QUINCY, 

ORATOR OF REFINED ENTHUSIASM. 



V. 

JOHN HANCOCK, 

DIGNIFIED CAVALIER OF LIBERTY'. 



VI. 

JOSEPH WARREN, 

TYPE OF OUR MARTIAL ELOQUENCE. 



CONTENTS. 

VII. 

JOHN ADAMS, 

ORATOR OF BLENDED ENTHUSIASM AND SOBRIETY. 

VIII. 

PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 

IX. 

PATRICK HENRY, 

THE INCARNATION OF REVOLUTIONARY ZEAL. 



X. 

RICHARD HENRY LEE, "^ 

THE POLISHED STATESMAN. 



XI. 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 

THE MASTER OF POLITICAL SAGACITY. 



XII. 

FISHER AMES, '^ 

ORATOR OF GENIUS AND ELABORATE BEAUTY. 

XIII. 

WILLIAM PINKNEY, 

THE ACCOMPLISHED COUNSELLOR. 

XIV. 

WILLIAM WIRT, 

THE ELEGANT ADVOCATE. 



CONTENTS. 

XV. 

THOMAS ADDIS EMMET, 

THE ORATOR OF DEEP FEELING. 



XVI. 

JOHN RANDOLPH, 

THE LMPERSONATION OF SARCASM. 



PREFACE. 



The following work is an attempt to present the oratorical 
features of the American Revolution. The political history 
of the country has been ably written. Vivid delineations of 
our early martial heroes are also before the public. All the 
great leaders in the various departments of statesmanship, 
literature, science and art, have received the meed of skillful 
scrutiny and discriminated praise. In view of this general 
appreciation of our illustrious fathers, it is the more remark- 
able that so little attention has been paid to the particular 
merits of the great leaders of the American forum. True, a 
good deal has been said of them in biographical sketches, 
legislative history, and traditionary annals ; but we are not 
aware that any work has heretofore been devoted to a criti- 
cal and comprehensive examination of our great orators as 
such. Many pointed allusions and partial descriptions lie 



18 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

varices us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from 
me, and from my friends, be such frigid philosophy as 
may conduct us, indifferent and unmoved, over any 
ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery or 
virtue. That man is little to be envied whose patriot- 
ism would not gain force on the plain of Marathon, or 
whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins 
of lona." 

The associations which are the most aflecting are 
moral. The venerable monuments of the past, and 
localities connected with which great events transpired, 
are invested with irresistible attractions to a susceptible 
heart and cultivated mind. They snatch the soul away 
in rapture, as if it had already traversed the tomb, and 
on the bosom of immensity imbue it with the inexhausti- 
ble glories which Jehovah has diffused through the 
universe : 

" The mind hath no horizon, 
It looks bej'ond the eye, and seeks for mind 
In all it sees, in all it sees o'erruling." 

It was with reference to this power of local associa- 
tion that the ancient poet, when describing the battle of 
Salamis, together with the temples of their gods, and the 
persons of those most dear to them, mentioned also- the 
tombs of their fathers as the objects best fitted to rouse 
the courage and inflame the patriotism of the Athenians 
in times of peril. Cicero beautifully alludes to the 
pleasure, which every accomplished mind experiences 
when exercised on the spots sanctified by illustrious 
characters. Germanicus visited Athens with venera- 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 19 

tion; and during his stay, divested himself of every 
insignia of power. Atticus paused with awe among its 
tombs and monuments : Julian shed tears, on quitting 
its bowers and groves : Leo Allatries wept over the ruins 
of a house which was said once to have belonged to Ho- 
mer. And why are the ruins of that illustrious city so 
thrilling to a cultivated and reflecting mind? Because 
it w^s the focus of intelligence ; the arena of the noblest 
strife of the noblest heroes. 

Still do we trace there the bold terrace of the Pnyx ; 
the scene of the stormy assemblies of the free people of 
Athens, and the battle-ground of her mightiest orators. 
Hither resorted the intellectual sovereigns of the world ; 
the patriots who 

" Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece, 
To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne." 

It was thence that Demosthenes spoke, and excited or 
calmed the sea of popular commotion, more powerful 
than the JEgean, whose billows, dashing near, mingled 
their roar with the thunders of his eloquence. 

There is a hallowed fellowship existing between all 
master minds. The most meritorious are always the 
first to recognize the claims of merit in others, the 
acutest to feel their excellence, and the most eloquent to 
proclaim their worth. When Cicero visited Athens, he 
wrote the following query : 

" Shall I ascribe it to a law of our nature, or to a de- 
lusive habit of mind, that when we look upon the scenes 
which illustrious men of old frequented, our feelings are 
more deeply excited than even by hearing the record of 



CHAPTER I. 

THE BATTLE-FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN 
ELOQUENCE. 

Great is the power of local association. To none is 
its influence indiflerent, but it is the most thrilling to 
minds of the most delicate tone. Reverence for the 
scenes of exalted deeds is a noble instinct planted in our 
hearts for noble ends. It is inarticulate adoration ad- 
dressed, not more to the understanding than to the heart. 
To be in a high degree void of this, is an evidence of 
personal ignominy and a presage of deserved oblivion^ 

Doctor Johnson, in a well-known passage, happily 
refei's to those feelings, which local associations awaken 
in the refined bosom. On arriving at Icolmkill, in his 
" Tour to the Western Islands," he wrote : 

" We are now treading that illustrious island, which 
was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, 
whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the 
benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion. To 
abstract the mind from all local emotion would be im- 
possible if it were endeavored ; and would be foolish if 
it were possible.. Whatever withdraws us from the 
power of the senses ; whatever makes the past, the dis- 
tant, or the future predominate over the present ; ad- 



.^•. 



18 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

varices us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from 
me, and from my friends, be such frigid philosophy as 
may conduct us, indifferent and unmoved, over any 
ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery or 
virtue. That man is Httle to be envied whose patriot- 
ism would not gain force on the plain of Marathon, or 
whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins 
of lona." 

The associations which are the most affecting are 
moral. The venerable monuments of the past, and 
localities connected with which great events transpired, 
are invested with irresistible attractions to a susceptible 
heart and cultivated mind. They snatch the soul away 
in rapture, as if it had already traversed the tomb, and 
on the bosom of immensity imbue it with the inexhausti- 
ble glories which Jehovah has diffused through the 
universe : 

" The mind hath no horizon, 
It looks beyond the eye, and seeks for mind 
In all it sees, in all it sees o'erruling." 

It was with reference to this power of local associa- 
tion that the ancient poet, when describing the battle of 
Salamis, together with the temples of their gods, and the 
persons of those most dear to them, mentioned also- the 
tombs of their fathers as the objects best fitted to rouse 
the courage and inflame the patriotism of the Athenians 
in times of peril. Cicero beautifully alludes to the 
pleasure, which every accomplished mind experiences 
when exercised on the spots sanctified by illustrious 
characters. Germanicus visited Athens with venera- 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 19 

tion; and during his stay, divested himself of every 
insignia of power. Atticus paused with awe among its 
tombs and monuments : Julian shed tears, on quitting 
its bowers and groves : Leo Allatries wept over the ruins 
of a house which was said once to have belonged to Ho- 
mer. And why are the ruins of that illustrious city so 
thrilling to a cultivated and reflecting mind ? Because 
it w^s the focus of intelligence ; the arena of the noblest 
strife of the noblest heroes. 

Still do we trace there the bold terrace of the Pnyx; 
the scene of the stormy assemblies of the free people of 
Athens, and the battle-ground of her mightiest orators. 
Hither resorted the intellectual sovereigns of the world ; 
the patriots who 

" Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece, 
To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne." 

It was thence that Demosthenes spoke, and excited or 
calmed the sea of popular commotion, more powerful 
than the ^gean, whose billows, dashing near, mingled 
their roar with the thunders of his eloquence. 

There is a hallowed fellowship existing between all 
master minds. The most meritorious are always the 
first to recognize the claims of merit in others, the 
acutest to feel their excellence, and the most eloquent to 
proclaim their worth. When Cicero visited Athens, he 
wrote the following query : 

" Shall I ascribe it to a law of our nature, or to a de- 
lusive habit of mind, that when we look upon the scenes 
which illustrious men of old frequented, our feeUngs are 
more deeply excited than even by hearing the record of 



20 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

their deeds, or perusing the works of their genius? 
Such is the emotion I now experience, when I think, 
that here Plato was accustomed to discourse ; these gar- 
dens around us not merely recall the idea of the sage to 
my memory, but place, as it were, his very form be- 
fore my eyes. Here, too, Speusippus taught ; here 
Xenocrates, here his disciple, Polemon ; this is the very 
seat he used to occupy." 

From these words of the great son of Rome, turn for 
a moment to the scene of his grandest struggles, that 
arena whereon the mightest spirits met in terrible con- 
flict, the Forum. Here, while Romans were freemen, 
all state affairs were debated in the most public manner, 
and the spot perhaps deserved the praise of being "the 
noblest theatre on this side of heaven." Elevated in 
the midst of the great square was the rostra, from which, 
with his eyes fixed on the capitol, which immediately 
faced him, and the Tarpeian rock, with which the most 
impressive associations of honor and infamy were con- 
nected, the noblest of orators, " wielded at will the fierce 
democracy," filling all bosoms with a passionate love of 
freedom and the glory of the Roman race. Cicero, in 
his work de Finihus, has indicated a fine trait of his 
character in the following remark : 

" Often when I enter the senate house, the shades of 
Scipio, of Cato, and of Lselius, and in particular of my 
venerable grandfather, rise to my imagination." 

Every elegant mind will be thus haunted in the same 
localities. 

The scene that beneficent spirits have visited "re- 
mains hallowed to all time," says Schiller; it is still 



FIELDS OF EAKLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 21 

"blessed, though robbers haunt the place." Southey 
adds, "He whose heart is not excited upon the spot 
which a martyr has sanctified by his sufferings, or at the 
grave of one who has largely benefitted mankind, must 
be more inferior to the multitude by his moral, than he 
can possibly be raised above them in his intellectual 
nature." We are indebted to the influence of local as- 
sociation, for one of the most valuable productions in 
modern history. It was in the Church of St. Maria 
d' Ara Ccsli, on the Capitoline Hill at Rome, as Gibbon 
himself tells us : "On the fifteenth of October, 17G4, as he 
sat musing amid the ruins of the capitol, while the bare- 
footed friars were singing Vespers, that the idea of writ- 
ing the Decline and Fall of the city first started to his 
mind." 

Why is Pompeii so full of thrilling associations to the 
thoughtful traveller? It is because he there views a 
city that was old when Christ was a babe, the well pre- 
served homes of a thousand happy circles all of whom 
perished long before our ancestors had a language or the 
world a substantial hope. It is a city that reposed 
twenty centuries in the bosom of the earth, with nations 
trampling above, while its monuments and decorations 
have been so well preserved, and now stand out so 
brightly in brilliant day, that a contemporary of Augus- 
tus, returning to its sheets, its forums, its temple-fanes 
and tesselated boudoirs, might exclaim : 

" I greet thee, O my country ! my dwelling is the only 
spot upon the earth which has preserved its form ; an 
immunity extending even to the smallest objects of my 
aflfection. Here is my couch; there are my favorite 



22 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

authors. My paintings, also, are still fresh as when the 
ingenious artist spread them over my walls. Come, let 
us traverse the town ; let us visit the drama ; I recog- 
nize the spot where I joined for the first time in the 
plaudits given to the fine scenes of Terence and Euri- 
pides. Rome is but one vast museum; Pompeii is a 
living antiquity." 

On visiting the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, 
the ingenuous scholar is inspired by the genius of the 
place. He remembers that within those venerable walls. 
Hooker and Johnson, Bacon and Newton pursued the 
walks of science, and thence soared to the most elevated 
heights of literary renown. It was the same noble emu- 
lation that Tully experienced at Athens, when he con- 
templated the portico where Socrates sat, and the laurel 
grove where Plato discoursed. 

But the most interesting associations we can explore 
are those connected with the early struggles of our 
country to be free. This topic is the most important, 
and we shall dwell on it more at length. 

In glancing at the historical events of our Revolution, 
we escape from the obscurity which invests the "dim 
and shadowy visions" of a remoter past. Wc contem- 
plate an age crowded, indeed, with unparalleled and 
stupendous events, but one perfectly authentic and lu- 
minous with the highest degree of splendor. Mr. Alison, 
describes the era of our national birth in the following 
high strain of eloquence : 

"The reign of George III., embraces, beyond all 
question, the most eventful and important period in the 
annals of mankind. In its eventful days were combined 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 23 

the growth of Grecian democracy with the passions of 
Roman ambition ; the fervor of plebeian zeal with the 
pride of aristocratic power ; the blood of Marius with 
the genius of Caesar ; the opening of a nobler hemisphere 
to the enterprize of Columbus, with the rise of a social 
agent as mighty as the press or the powers of steam. 

" But if new elements were called into action in the 
social world, of surpassing strength and energy, in the 
course of this memorable reign, still more remarkable 
were the characters which rose to eminence during 
its continuance. The military genius, unconquerable 
courage, and enduring constancy of Frederic; the ar- 
dent mind, burning eloquence, and lofty patriotism of 
Chatham; the incorruptible integrity, sagacious intel- 
lect, and philosophic spirit of Franklin ; the disinterested 
virtue, prophetic wisdom, and imperturbable fortitude of 
Washington ; the masculine understanding, feminine 
passions, and blood-stained ambition of Catharine, would, 
alone have been sufRcient to cast a radiance over any 
other age of the world. But bright as were the stars of 
its morning light, more brilliant still was the constella- 
tion which shone forth in its meridian splendor, or cast 
a glow over the twilight of its evening shades. Then 
were to be seen the rival genius of Pitt and Fox, which, 
emblematic of the antagonist powers which then con- 
vulsed mankind, shook the British Senate by their vehe- 
mence, and roused the spirit destined, ere long, for the 
dearest interests of humanity, to array the world in 
arms ; then the great soul of Burke cast off the unworld- 
ly fetters of ambition or party, and, fraught with a 
giant's force and a prophet's wisdom, regained its destiny 



24 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

in the cause of mankind ; then the arm of Nelson cast 
its thunderbolts on every shore, and preserved unscath- 
ed in the deep the ark of European freedom ; and, ere 
his reign expired, the wisdom of Wellington had erected 
an impassible barrier to Gallic ambition, and said, even 
to the deluge of imperial power, " Hitherto shalt thou 
come and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be 
stayed." Nor were splendid genius, heroic virtue, gi- 
gantic wickedness, wanting on the opposite side of this 
heart-stirring conflict. Mirabeau had thrown over the 
morning of the French Revolution the brilliant but de- 
ceitful light of Democratic genius ; Danton had colored 
its noontide glow with the passions and the energy of tri- 
bunitian power ; Carnot had exhibited the combination, 
rare in a corrupted age, of Republican energy with pri- 
vate virtue ; Robespierre had darkened its evening days 
by the blood and agony of selfish ambition ; Napoleon 
had risen like a meteor over its midnight darkness, 
dazzled the world b}^ the brightness of his genius and the 
lustre of his deeds, and mred its votaries, by the deceitful 
blaze of glory, to perdition. 

" In calmer pursuits in the tranquil walks of science 
and literature, the same age was, beyond all others, fruit- 
ful in illustrious men. Doctor Johnson, the strongest 
intellect and the most profound observer of the eighteenth 
century ; Gibbon the architect of a bridge over the dark 
gulf which separates ancient from modern times, whose 
vivid. genius has tinged with brilliant colors the greatest 
historical work in existence ; Hume, whose simple but 
profound history will be coeval with the long and event- 
ful thread of English story ; Robertson, who first threw 



FIELDS OF EAKLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 25 

over the maze of human events the hght of philosophic 
genius and the spirit of enlightened reflection; Gray, 
whose burning thoughts had been condensed in words 
of more than classic beauty; Burns, whose lofty soul 
spread its own pathos and dignity over the " short and 
simple annals of the poor;" Smith, who called into 
existence a new science, fraught with the dearest in- 
terests of humanity, and nearly brought it to perfection 
in a single life-time ; Reid, who canned into the recesses 
of the human mind the torch of cool and sagacious in- 
quiry ; Stewart, who cast a luminous glance over the 
philosophy of mind, and warmed the inmost recesses of 
metaphysical inquiry by the delicacy of taste and the 
glow of eloquence ; W^tt, who added an unknown power 
to the resources of art, and in the regulated force of 
steam, discovered the means of approximating the most 
distant parts of the earth, and spreading in the wilder- 
ness of nature the wonders of European enterprise and 
the blessings of Christian civilization ; these formed 
some of the ornaments of the period, during its earlier 
and more pacific times, forever memorable in the annals 
of scientific acquisition and literary greatness." 

The colonial and revolutionary history in this country 
comported with the intellectual character of the age just 
sketched. The founders of our colonies, the Winthrops, 
the Smiths, the Raleighs, the Penns, the Oglethorpes, 
were among the most accomplished scholars and ele- 
gant writers, as well as the most elevated and pure 
spirits of their time. They were men of severe morali- 
ty and unblemished integrity, as distinguished for private 
purity as for public virtue. Being driven into war, they 



28 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

drew their swords for opinion's sake; having entered 
the contest on conscientious grounds, they deemed no 
sacrifice too great to be made in defence of their rights. 

*' Such were the men of old, whose tempered blades 
Dispersed the shackles of usurped control, 
And hewed them link from link : then Albion's sons 
Were sons indeed ; they felt a filial heart 
Beat high within them at a mother's wrongs; 
And shining each in his domestic sphere 
Shone brighter still when called to public view." 

Diodorus Siculus tells us that the forest of the Pyre- 
nean mountains being set on fire, and the heat penetrat- 
ing the soil, a pure stream of silver gushed forth from 
the earth's bosom, and revealed for the first time the 
existence of those mines afterwards so celebrated. So, 
in circumstances of severe trial, intellectual resources 
are developed in copious and splendid profusion. 

The heroical pioneers of freedom in our land were not 
only conscious of the dignity and importance of the im- 
mediate consequences of their acts, but they were 
prophetic of the future grandeur which their country was 
destined to attain. The spirit of lofty and wise patriotism 
was diffused through all classes, and the resolute deter- 
mination to resist oppression was shared by all. Ameri- 
can mothers early learned, like the Spartan matron, to 
say to their sons marching to battle, " Return victorious, 
or return no more." 

Another striking feature in our primitive annals was 
the unanimity of purpose and action which subsisted 
among all the early patriots. The parent colonies teem 
with charms " unborrowed from the eve." Thev abound 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 27 

with scenes which memory has sanctified, history com- 
memorated, and poetry adorned ; every rivulet has its 
hallowed associations, every secluded lake and untamed 
forest haunts the imagination with reminiscences of 
savage times; every field has its tale of blood, every 
shore its record of suffering, and " not a mountain lifts 
its head unsung," or unworthy of heroic strains. Al- 
though the external aspect of nature is becoming rapidly 
changed by the inroads of unexampled enterprise, and 
many vestiges of primitive wildness are swept away, 
still 

" A spirit hangs, 
Beautiful region ! o'er thy towns and farms, 
Statues and temples, and memorial tombs." 

But one impulse moved our fathers in the great work 
they were commissioned to perform. Each one was full 
of the sentiment of Grattan, " I never will be satisfied so 
long as the meanest of mortals has a link of the British 
chain clanking on his limbs ; and the declaration is plant- 
ed, and though great men should apostatize, yet the 
cause shall live ; and though the public speaker should 
die, yet the immortal fire shall outlast the organ that con- 
veyed it, and the breath of liberty, like the word of the 
holy man, will not die with the prophet, but survive 
him." 

That spirit has survived its first propagators, enhanc- 
ed in value, if possible, by the recollection that, equally 
in the remotest sections, there was unanimous prompti- 
tude for a common defence, and not one recreant among 
avowed patriots to disgrace their toil. 

The blood that was shed in the war of the Revolution, 



28 OKATOns OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIOIV. 

was shed in the defence of essential rights, and to secure 
independence for all. The bond of mutual sympathy 
was strong, and the interchange of patriotic labors de- 
lightlul. The most glorious victories of the south, were 
W'on by a northern general ; and the greatest achieve- 
ments north of the Potomac, distinguishes the name of a 
southern officer. Patriots did not then stop to calculate 
the value of the Union, and strike a balance between 
imaginary and substantial allegiance to a common coun- 
try. Then the richest consolation men enjoyed in life 
and in death, was that their sacred trust as statesmen 
and fellow citizens had been dischai'ged with equal 
fidelity to every portion of the struggling land, and that 
the fruits of that fidelity, consecrated with their tears 
and blood, were entailed on their latest posterity. Not 
yet are statues and columns, and temples dedicated to 
each of that immortal band. Perhaps the most appro- 
priate monument and which best comports with their 
character and fame, is the one they themselves erected ; 
the simple and sublime grandeur of our vast Republic. 

The influence of local association is strongly felt in 
the bosom of every American who visits the crumbling 
ruins of Jamestown, " Glorious still in all her old decay ;'* 
or the unwasted rock at Plymouth ; the solid shore on 
which the Pilgrims first stepped, and which is immortal 
like Marathon or Nazareth. Truly said the great states- 
man of the north : 

"We shall not stand unmoved on the shore of Ply- 
mouth, while the sea continues to wash it; nor will our 
brethren in another early and ancient colony forget the 
place of its first establishment, till their river shall cease 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 29 

to flow by it. No vigor of youth, no niatuvity of man- 
hood, will lead the nation to forget the spots where its 
infancy was cradled and defended." 

lie must have sensibilities dull indeed who can con- 
template unmoved the original dresses still preserved in 
"Pilgrim Hall;" the very plates from which our ances- 
tors feasted and thanked God, and the venerable records 
in which their own hands inscribed the incidents of their 
first days on this continent, the most sad and sublime of 
history. " Where a spring rises or a river flows," says 
Seneca, " There should we build altars and offer sacri- 
fices." We feel the force of this sentiment when we 
bend over the " sweet and delicate springs of water," for 
which the Pilgrims rendered especial gratitude, and which 
are still gushing at the foot of that hill, hard by the 
sounding sea, on the dreary summit of which, in that 
bleak December, the first germs of our nation sought a 
refuge amid drifting snows. Comm.erce is now busy 
there, wealth, science and art are multiplying their monu- 
ments all around, but O! let them not encroach on the 
sacred precincts of that hill's summit — the first burial- 
ground of our land ; leave that as a hallowed shrine 
where the remotest descendants of the pure and the free 
from his hearth far-off by the shore of the Pacific, may 
come and listen to the kindred tones of the Atlantic, and 
the holy melody of night-winds as they sigh a perpetual 
requiem over the graves of the first victims of that 
dreadful winter. Carver, White, Rose Standish, and 
Mary Allerton. In the language of a distinguished 
poet, now living in New England, may we not 
exclaim : 



30 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

" Oh ! if the )"ouiig enthusiast bears 
(Ter weary waste and sea the stone 

Which crumbled from the Forum's stairs 
Or round the Parthenon ; 

Or olive-bough from some Nvild tree, 

Hung over old Thermopylae: 

" If leaflets from some hero's tomb, 

Or moss-wreath torn from ruins hoary, 

Or faded flowers whose sisters bloom 
On fields renowned in story ; 

Or fragments from the Alhambra's crest. 

Or the gray rock by Druids blest ! 

"If it be true tliat things like these 

To heart and eye bright visions bring. 

Shall not far holier memories 
To these memorials cling'? 

Which need no mellowing mist of time 

To hide the crimson stains of crime ! 

But the most remarkable characteristic of our early 
history is, that Providence seems to have assigned each 
man an especial duty, and to have marked each battle- 
field of forensic strife with distinguished honors. It is 
interesting to observe how the citadel of oppression was 
attacked at different points, and a stone loosened here 
and there, by individual efforts, preparatory to the gen- 
eral storm and complete downfall. James Otis, in his 
argument against "Writs of Assistance,*' avowed and 
triumphantly defended the doctrine, that "taxation with- 
out representation is tyranny ;" and Samuel Adams, in 
a college exercise pronounced in the presence of the 
chief minions of British power, boldly announced for his 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 31 

theme that "Resistance to the Chief Magistrate is a 
duty, when the Commonwealth cannot otherwise be 
preserved." These were radical principles and struck 
at the foundation of all colonial wrongs. 

About the same time, Patrick Henry led oft' the south- 
ern wing of freedom's young army in a most bold and 
daring manner. The ruins of the old House of Bur- 
gesses will be for ever associated with his name. It was 
on that spot, in 17G4, that he originated the great ques- 
tion which led eventually to American Independence. 
The whole colony of Virginia was confounded and dispir- 
ited on the promulgation of the Stamp- Act. It was in that 
dark crisis that Henry arose, and the thunders of his 
eloquence were heard, holding up to public indignation 
the tyranny of Great Britain, and animating his coun- 
trymen to resist the injustice which in that Act she had 
presumed to inflict. It was in allusion to the august 
scene, when this ''forest-born Demosthenes' boldly 
braved the popular feeling of the world and the world's 
greatest power, that Jefferson declared, "Mr. Henry 
certainly gave the first impulse to the ball of the 
Revolution." 

The same hand smote down another iniquitous prin- 
ciple in the old court-house yet standing in Hanover 
county. We refer to the famous controversy between 
the clergy on the one hand and the people of the colony 
on the other, touching the stipend claimed by the former. 
Goaded to a sense of religious freedom by the arrogance 
of a state establishment and the stings of intolerance, the 
colonists sought a defender of their rights, and found 
him in the person of a rustic patriot, then but twenty- 



82 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

four years old. We need not here recount the splendid 
scene when Henry delivered his lainous "speech against 
the parsons," making the blood of all to run cold, and 
their hair to rise on end. 

It was thus that Otis, by the flames of his eloquence, 
calcined the corner-stone of legal tyranny, and Henry 
with a thunder-bolt shattered the key-stone of ecclesias- 
tical wrongs. Like Hercules and Theseus, they were 
the avengers of the oppressed and the destroyers of 
monsters. These were not men who, as Burke said of 
the aristocratic politicians of his acquaintance, had been 
"rocked and dandled into legislators." James Otis and 
Patrick Henry were, above all others, best fitted for the 
emergency to which they were born, because they dared 
to say more in public than any other men. They pos- 
sessed the brawny strength of the giant under whose 
massy club the hydra fell, and the ethereal terrors that 
rendered Jupiter Tonans dreadful to his foes, rather 
than the etVeminate ease and elegant locks of Adonis, 
graceful in the dance, but inefficient on the field of 
severe and solemn conflict. 

Every conquest of value is at the price of popular 
commotion and heroic blood. Men must dare if they 
Avould win. The atmosphere we breathe would stag- 
nate without tempests, and the ocean becomes })utrid 
without agitation. Galileo fought in the observatory 
and sufl^ered in prison while establishing the true doc- 
trines of astronomy. Otis, Henry and Adams struggled 
on the rostrum, and pleaded with a price set upon their 
heads, while they cleared a space for the sunshine and 
growth of enlarged liberty. They were just the men 



FIELDS OF EAKLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 33 

for the tusk. They struck for freedom and not for 
plunder, and were ready to sacrifice everything in be- 
half t>f the boon for the attainment of which they fought. 
To give battle single-handed, like Codes, against a horde 
of foes, or, like Curtius, to immolate themselves for the 
good of their country, was a duty which they courted 
rather than shunned. Those three men were the Ho- 
ratii of this nation, and their renown will grow broader 
and brighter with the lapse of time. 

It is interesting to observe what great results some- 
times (low from little causes. On November the seven- 
teenth, KJ07, three patriotic Swiss met at night on the 
border of a lake in the bosom of the Alps, and mutually 
pledged their labors and their lives for the disenthral- 
ment of their country. By the blessing of Providence 
on their efforts, and the vigilance of their successors, 
Freedom won and has maintained her sublime throne on 
that spot for six hundred years. Near the same place, 
three rivulets pour their limpid waters and unite in a 
stream constantly augmented as it leaves mountain and 
forest behind and rushes on to linger a while in the 
placid beauty of Lake Constance ; thence it leaps down 
the cataract of Schaufl'hausen, rolls along the bases of 
the Jura, the Vosges and the Taurus ; traverses the 
plains of Friesland, waters the low countries of Holland ; 
and having received twelve thousand tributaries, flowed 
by one hundred and fourteen cities and towns, divided 
eleven nations, murmuring the history of thirty centuries 
and difliising innumerable blessings all along its course, 
it stretches its mighty career from central Europe to the 
sea. But who can measure the length or fathom the 
2* 



34 ORATOKS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

depth of that current of good, first opened by the instru- 
mentality of Otis, Henry and Adams? — a stream which, 
more beneficent than the mighty river of Egypt or the 
Rhine, is destined to inundate and fertihze the world. 

The source of American independence may be traced 
higher than to the period when, to speak in the vei*se 
of Thomson, 

" Stmit to the voted aid, 
Free, cordial, large, of never-failing source, 
Th' illegal imposition follow'd harsh, 
With execution given, or ruthless sought, 
From an insulted people, by a band 
Of the worst ruthans, those of tyrant power.'' 

It was not tlie Stamp-Act that produced, although it 
immediately occasioned, the struggle with the mother- 
country. It has been well said by Mr. Jefferson, that 
"the ball of the Revolution received its first impulse, 
not from the actors in that event, but from the first 
colonists." The latter emigrated to America in search 
of civil and religious freedom ; they fled hither with a 
hatred toward the shackles which feudal institutions and 
the canon law imposed upon the soul. The spirit of 
revolt against oppression originated in England, and 
went with Robinson's congregation to Holland ; thence 
it emigrated in the Mayflower to Plymouth, and became 
the basis of all the legislation put forth by the wisest of 
colonists. Our Pilgrim Fathers moulded their social 
compacts and ecclesiastical government in direct oppo- 
sition to the systems under which they had been so 
severely oppressed. But this spirit of freedom, which 
had been developing from the first planting of the 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMEKICAN ELOaUENCE. 35 

colonios, pjiigland attempted to quell. The chief resist- 
ance was m;idc to her aggressive measures in Massa 
chusetts, because that colony was selected lor the firsl 
trial of tyrannic control. We have seen, however, 
that the south was as prompt to resist as her more 
opprossecJ brethren at the north. 

The historian of Greece records the names of ten 
distinguished orators who resisted the Macedonian 
con(|ueror, and the persons of whom he demanded, as 
being hostile to his supremacy. Our youthful colonies, 
soon after the conflict was commenced by the venerated 
patriots already named, presented an array of orators 
(vpial in number and efliciency to those of any land. 
Henry, Lee, and Randolj)!), in the south, and Otis, 
Samuel Adams, John Adams, Josiah Quincy, Hamilton, 
and others, in the north, rose in grandeur and usefulness 
as the storm increased ; showing that they were the 
voices and the beacon-fires which God had loved and 
lighted for the welfare of mankind. 

Several coincidences in our early history are remarka- 
ble. The first and last battle-fields of the Revolution 
are almost within sight of the colleges where our leading 
patriots were educated, and the rostra where the first po- 
pular debates occurred. All the chief orators of New 
England were graduated at Harvard; the popular dis- 
cussions which led to actual conflict with the mother- 
country took place in the public buildings of Boston, 
and the first great battle for freedom raged on Bunker 
Hill. 

The chief leaders of the patriotic party in the south 
wcro educated at tho collego of William and Mary, 



36 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Jeflerson, then a student, heard Patrick Henry's first 
eloquent denunciation ot' oppression almost under the 
eaves ol" his Ahna Mater, as John Adams, then a young 
man, heard Otis when he first attacked the principle of 
unjust taxation in the north. In the immediate neigh- 
borhood of Williamsburg, Cornwallis surrendered, and 
the long struggle of the Revolutionary war was closed. 
Thus the ball rested near where it received its first 
impulse. Without those colleges to discipline our 
heroical fathers, how different would have been the 
destinies of the world ! Long may the venerable halls 
remain, and there 

"Long may young Genius shed his sparkling ray, 
And throw his emanations bright around.'' 

The apostles of liberty in America, like the original 
preachers of our holy religion, first proclaimed their 
doctrines to a few fishermen ; men of toil and enterprise, 
such as Burke described : " While we follow them 
among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them 
penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson's 
Bay and Davis' Straits; while we are looking for them 
beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced 
into the opposite region of polar cold : that they are at 
the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen serpent of 
the south. Falkland Island, which seemed too remote 
an object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a 
stage and resting-place in the progress of their victorious 
industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging 
to them than the accumulated winter of both the poles. 
We know that while some of them draw the line and 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE, 37 

strike llie harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run 
the longitude and pursue their gigantic game along the 
coasts of Brazil. No sea but is vexed by their fisheries ; 
no climate that is not witness to their toils. Neither 
the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, 
nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enter- 
prise, ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy 
industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by 
this recent people ; a people who are still, as it were, 
but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone 
of manhood. 

" When I contemplate these things ; when I know 
that the colonies in general owe little or nothing to any 
care of ours, and that they are n.ot squeezed into this 
happy form by the constraints of a watchful and sus- 
])icious government, but that through a wise and 
salutary neglect a generous nature has been suffered to 
take her own way to perfection ; when I reflect upon 
these effects ; when I see how profitable they have been 
to us, I feel all the pride of power sink, and all pre- 
sumption in the wisdom of human contrivances melt 
and die away within me ; my rigor relents ; I pardon 
something to the spirit of liberty." 

Such being the spirit of enterprise among the colonists 
in their eflbrts to obtain an honest livelihood on the 
land and on the sea, we cannot suppose that they would 
long submit to oppressive exactions. Popular discus- 
sions of popular wrongs soon became frequent, and one 
of the most noted places of gathering w^as around 
Liberty Tree. This was a majestic elm, a species 
peculiar to America, and one of the grandest trees in 



38 ORATORS OF TllK AMERICAN REVOT.UTION. 

the ^voli(^. It. stood opposite where now stands the 
Boylstou JMarkct, with its immense hranches over- 
spreadini; the street. Governor Bernard, writing to 
Lord Hillsborough, in a letter dated Boston, June IG, 
1763, gives the lollowing description of the renowned 
spot : 

" Your lordship must know that Liberty Tree is a 
large old elm in the High-street, upon which the effigies 
were hung in the time of the Stamp-Act, and from 
whence the mobs at that time made their parades. It 
has since been adornctl with an inscription, and has 
obtained the name of I^iberty Tree, as the ground under 
it has that of Liberty Hall. In August last, just betbre 
the conunencement of the present troubles, they erected 
a flag-stair, which went through the tree and a good 
deal above the top of the tree. Upon this they hoist a 
flag as a signal for the * Sons of Libert}',' as they are 
called. I gave my Lord Shelburne an account of this 
erection at the time it was made. This tree has often 
put me in mind of Jack Cade's ' Oak of Ileformation.' " 

The towering elm thus reterred to was the grand 
rallying-point for the ancient Sons of Liberty. On its 
sturdy trunk notices of tyrannical movements and calls 
to resist the same were wont to appear in the night, 
nobody could tell from whence ; from its lofty branches 
obnoxious functionaries were often suspended in ridi- 
culous representations, nobody could tell by whom. 
For instance, on the fourteenth of August, 1765, an 
effigy of Mr. Oliver, recently appointed to distribute the 
stamps, and a hoot (emblematical of Lord Bute) with 
the devil peeping out of it vvitli the Stajwp-Act in his 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMEUICAN ELOaUENCE. 39 

hand, and various other satirical emblems, here ap- 
peared in tlie manner described. By this time, so strong 
hail the popular indignation become, that the sheritls, 
when ordered to the task by Chief Justice Hutchinson, 
declined the danger of removing the pageantry from 
the tree. It would seem that on this spot "liberty- 
poles" originated, and one now marks the site of tho 
tree so dear to our fathers; a locality thrilling indeed in 
its associations. 

To the thoughtful American, as he perambulates 
Boston and its vicinity, there are many scenes calculated 
to arrest and strongly to absorb attention ; but, all 
things considered, perhaps no place in New England is 
more interesting than Faneuil Hall. We have already 
alluded to several distinguished battle-fields of early 
American eloquence, each of which is remarkable for 
the conquest of some grand and spi'i-ilio principle of 
freedom. The old State-House, the head-quarters of 
colonial government in Boston, was the arena on which 
unrighteous taxation was combatted and the true ground 
won. The House of Burgesses, at Williamsburg, was 
the field on which open rebellion against Parliament 
was first declared, and Hanover court-house, in the 
same colony, was the blessed spot whereon priestly rule 
was eHcctually destroyed; but Faneuil Hall will be for- 
ever memorable for still more noble and enduring asso- 
ciations. Within those venerable walls transpired not 
so much the work of destruction as construction ; 
patriots therein not only resisted wrong, but they 
elicited and moulded into practical use the elements of 
what is right and good ; while they pulled down antique 



40 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLITIOX. 

forms of government, they at the same time built up a 
new order of political and moral architecture the most 
symmetrical and sublime. 

Three prominent features characterize our republican 
institutions; universal representation, free discussion, 
and the decision of all questions by majorities. It is 
easy to demonstrate where these fundamental principles 
were first established. 

The '■ town-meetings" of Xew England were entirely 
a new feature introduced to the world in connection 
with political reform. A noted one was hold in Faneuil 
Hall on the twelfth of September, 1768. Dr. Cooper 
opened the exercises with prayer. A letter written to 
the commissioners of the British government, by one of 
their spies, gives us some interesting details with respect 
to the customs and feelings that prevailed in the popular 
meelinixs of those times. The informer tells them that 
the people met in Faneuil Hall : that Mr. Otis was chosen 
moderator, and was received with an uliivei-sal clapping 
of hands ; that the hall not being large enough to con- 
tain them, they adjourned to Dr. Sewall's meeting-house ; 
that after several motions, and the appointing a deputa- 
tion to wait on his excellency, thej agreed to adjourn to 
the next afternoon ; "the moderator fii*st making a speech 
to the inhabitants, strongly recommending peace and 
ffood order, and the grievances the people labored under 
misjht be in time removed ; if not, and we were called 
on to defend our liberties and privileges, he hoped and 
believed we should one and all resist, even ^nXo blood ; 
but at the same time, prayed Almighty God it might 
never so happen." 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 41 

Thus was the ii<i;ht of free discussion in a popular as- 
sembly assiMled and exercised, and the still higher right 
ot" universal suH'rage connected therewith. The show 
oi" hands decided every question, and the hard hand of 
the laboring man counted as much as that which signed 
orders for tens of thousands. Such gatherings and dis- 
cussions had the most salutary effects. The people be- 
came acquainted with each other, and felt the need of 
mutual ilependence as well as mutual restraint. The 
influence of every man was estimatetl according to his 
personal worth. In the popular strife for universal free- 
dom, they struck upon the fundamental principle of re- 
publicanism, that the majority must rule; it was this 
that gave each member of an assembly a pride in main- 
taining its decisions, as he thereby fortified his own judg- 
ment and self-respect. No sooner iiad these meetings, 
actuated and controlled by such original and exalted 
principles, began to be held in the "Cradle of Liberty," 
than the sagacious Burke recognized and proclaimed 
their superior dignity. Said he of the colonists : " Their 
governments are popular in a high degree; some are 
merely popular, in all the popular representative is the 
most weighty; and this share of the people in their or- 
dinary government never fails to inspire them with lofty 
sentiments and with a strong aversion for whatever tends 
to deprive them of their chief importance." But what 
this magnanimous statesman approved, others maligned. 
Governor Bernard vilified the character of the poi)uIar 
meetings, to which misrepresentations the " Vindication 
of the Town of Boston," writtc-n by Otis, replied as fol- 
lows : " The governor has often been observed to dis- 



43 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAX REVOLUTION. 

cover an aversion to free assemblies ; no wonder then 
that he should be so particularly disgusted at a legal 
meeting of the town of Boston, where a noble freedom 
of speech is ever expected and maintained ; an assembly 
of which it may be justly said, to borrow the language 
of the ancient Roman, ' They think as they please, and 
speak as they think-' Such an assembly has ever been 
the dread and often the scourge of tyrants." 

The strugole between the metropolis of New England 
and the British government was severe, and continued 
from the time of the Stamp- Act, in 1765, till the evacua- 
tion of the foreign troops in 1776. Every walk of in- 
dustrious life and every profession, the bar, the pulpit 
and the press, combined to give intensity and efficiency 
to the civil war. As an indication of the plainness and 
power of the latter, the following anecdote will suttice. 
A negro, whose principles were like his master's, a tool 
of foreign despotism, one day met Mr. Edes, the printer 
of the Boston Gazette, which was the devoted organ of 
the patriots, and inquired of him what was the news. 
The printer replied that there was nothing new. " Well," 
said the sable aristocrat, ''if you've nothing new.Massa 
Edes, I spose you print the same old lie over again." 

It is important to remember, that in all the excite- 
ments of those times ; the vexations that arrested com- 
merce ; the irritations produced by the presence of mer- 
cenary troops : the menaces of arrogant officers, and 
even the massacre of several citizens in open day ; de- 
spite all sorts of provocations and the mt)St favorable 
opportunities for revenge, during the whole period of the 
Revolution not a single life was destroyed by the Bos- 



FIELDS OP EARLY AMERICAN ELOQUENCE. 43 

tonians, either by assassination, mob law, or public 
execution. 

In the meantime, the meetings in Faneuil Hail and 
other large public edifices were spreading the most salu- 
tary influence over the country. The town-meetings 
and provincial assemblies were the arenas wherein the 
people were trained and armed intellectually for the 
great battle of independence. It was then that orators, 
fitted expressly for that preparatory work, like Otis and 
Henry, appeared, and consummated their exalted task. 
Driven at the points of British bayonets from Williams- 
burg, the noble band of Virginia patriots were still loyal 
to the highest duty. The Old Dominion continued to 
respond to the Bay State ; the " Old Church" at Rich- 
mond echoed back in tones of thunder the patriotic cries 
that rang from Faneuil Hall. 

Hallowed are the associations connected with that 
venerable church in Richmond ! Often has the writer 
sought its precincts alone, and pondered there on the 
scene when, witiiin the walls yet standing, Henry, as 
the embodiment of the Revolution and all its sublime 
results, rose like one inspired, and delivered that speech 
unequalled in the history of man, ending with the omi- 
nous words, " Give me liberdj, or give me death!" It was 
in the same burst of transcendent eloquence that the 
phrase, "After all, we must fight!" first broke on the 
popular ear, and fired the universal heart. The history 
of that expression is interesting, as showing the close 
relations that subsisted between the north and south in 
all the Revolutionary struggle. They are the expression 
of a quiet Puritan in the interior of Massachusetts, given 



44 ORATORS OF TUK AMKKICAN KKVOMTION. 

to tlie world on wings of lire by the bokl Cavalier of 
Virginia. The facts are stated as follows, in a letter 
from John Adams to William Wirt : 

'* When Congress had finished their business, as they 
thought, in the autunni oi' 1774, I had with JNIr. Henry, 
before we took leave o( each other, some lamiliar con- 
versation, in which I expressed a full conviction that 
our resolves, declarations of rights, enumeration of 
wrongs, petitions, remonstrances and addresses, associa- 
tions and non-importation agreements, however they 
might be expected in America, and however necessary 
to cement the union of the colonies, would be but waste 
paper in England. Mr. Henry said they might make 
some impression upon the people of England, but agreed 
with me that they would be totally lost upon the govern- 
ment. I had but just received a short and hasty letter, 
written to me by Major Joseph Hawley, of Northamp- 
ton, containing ' a few broken hints,' as he called them, 
of what he thought was proper to be done, and conclud- 
ing with those words, 'After all, we must fight!' This 
letter I read to Mr. Henry, who listened with great at- 
tention; and as soon as I had pronounced the words, 
' After all, we must fight,' he raised his head, and with 
an energy and vehemence that I can never forget, broke 
out with 'By God, I am of that man's mind!' I put 
the letter into his hand, and when lie had read it, he re- 
turned it to me, with an equally solemn asseveration 
that lie agreed entirely in opinion with the writer. I 
considered this as a sacred oath, upon a very great oc- 
casion, (and woulil have sworn it as religiously as he 
did,) and by no moans inconsistent with what you say, 



FIELDS OF ffARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 45 

in some part of your book, that he never took the sacred 
name in vahi. 

'• As I knew the sentiments with which Mr. Henry left 
Congress in tho autumn of 1774, and knew the chapter 
and verse from which he had borrowed the sublime ex- 
pression, ' We must fight,' I was not at all surprised at 
your history, in the hundred and twenty-second page in 
the note, and in some of the preceding and following 
pages. Mr. Henry only pursued, in March, 1775, the 
views and vows of November, 1774. 

" The other delegates from Virginia returned to their 
State, in full confidence that all our grievances would 
be redressed. The last words that Mr. Richard Henry 
Lee said to me when we parted, were : ' We shall in- 
fallibly carry all our points ; you ivill be completely re- 
lieved; all the offensive Acts will be repealed; the army 
and lleet will be recalled, and Britain will give up her 
foolish project.' 

" Washington only \vas in doubt. He never spoke in 
public. In private he joined with those who advocated 
a non-exportation, as well as a non-importation agree- 
ment. With both he thought we should prevail; with- 
out either he thought it doubtful. Henry was clear in 
one opinion, Richard Henry Lee in an opposite opinion, 
and Washington doubled between the two. Henry, 
however, appeared in the end to be exactly in the right." 

It is evident that John Adams and Patrick Henry 
parted on the above occasion with a perfect identity of 
sentiment, and returned to their respective colonies to 
urge on the crisis which they saw was inevitable. Henry 
acquitted himself of his duty at Richmond, as has been 



46 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

already described. Adams rejoined his distinguished 
colleagues in the popular movements in Fancuil Hall. 
To describe the immediate and remote consequences of 
those movements, we cannot do better than by employ- 
ing the following extract from Daniel Webster: "No 
where can be found higher proofs of a spirit that was 
ready to hazard all, to pledge all, to sacrifice all, in the 
cause of the country. Instances were not unfrcquent 
in which small free-holders parted with their last hoof 
and the last nieasurc of corn from their granaries, to 
supply provision for the troops and hire service for the 
ranks. The voice of Otis and of Adams in Faneuil 
Hall found its full and true echo in the little councils of 
the interior towns ; and if within the Continental Con- 
gress patriotism shone more conspicuously, it did not 
there exist more truly, nor burn more fervently ; it did 
not render the day more anxious or the night more sleep- 
less ; it sent up no more ardent prayer to God for succor, 
and it put forth in no greater degree the fullness of its 
eflbrt and the energy of its whole soul and spirit in the 
common cause, than it did in the small assemblies of the 
towns." 

Those primary meetings, we remark again, wiiich soon 
began to prevail throughout the country, served to en- 
lighten all classes, and became the firmest cement to 
bind them together, when a comprehensive and com- 
bined eflbrt was demanded. The source and model 
of those assemblies was in the "Cradle of Liberty," 
happilv yet extant. Long may it remain one of the 
most hallowed spots on the globe. What men have 
there spoken, and what events have therein ti-an- 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOQUENCE. 47 

spired ! What American can ever ascend to that Foi'um 
without standing enthralled by the intensity of thrilling 
associations ? Here, as in the famous area where the 
masters of the world were wont of old to address the 
Roman people, the applause of venerated patriots min- 
gled with the tones of kindred orators, cheered and for- 
tified them in the exposure of crime, the vindication of 
justice, and the defence of freedom. Here, too, as tliere 
ai'e palpable reminiscences of the heroic past. Every 
foot of the Forum at Rome was hallowed by the memory 
of some great domestic or national event. Columns and 
arches and temples testified on all sides the devotion of 
individuals and the triumphs of the republic. Standing 
in Faneuil Hall, one sees not only the colonnades, the 
galleries, the floor and the ceiling of the vast gathering- 
place of early patriots, the battle-field of consummate elo- 
quence, but there, too, are the artistic forms of some who 
mingled in the sternest strife of our country's darkest 
days. Would that the walls were all granite, and the 
roof iron, firm and enduring as the souls whose memo- 
ries are for ever linked with the locality, and that, from 
niches all round this theatre of most glorious deeds, the 
marble forms of all the chief actors might look down 
upon interminable generations of American freemen. 

We come, finally, to consider the m.ost glorious battle- 
field of all ; the Congress of '76. Everything lias been 
prepared for the grand and decisive blow. Providence 
summons the whole country to a general council in Phi- 
ladelphia, and the choicest spirits of every section are 
prompt to obey. What were the thoughts that accom- 
panied those patriots, as they turned their backs upon 



48 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

every thing dear around home's hearth, and set their faces 
toward a connnon aUar, journeying up thither with the 
determination to cc>nsecrate everything to the puhhc 
weal? It is certain tiuit they were capable of properly 
appreciating the perils that encompassed them, as well 
as the benefits which might flow from the elVorts they 
designed to make. Never was there a popular assembly 
of jioliticians that comprised a greater pro|>ortion of 
highly educated members. Nearly one-half were gra- 
duates of colleges at home or abroad. Some were self- 
educated, in the best school, and to the highest degree. 
The ancient poets taught that Astrrca, the goddess of 
Justice, had her last residence among unsophisticated 
husbandmen before she quitted the earth. The Genius 
of Liberty found a rural home in our land ere she was 
thnuied by general acclamation at (^arpcnter's Hall, in 
the central colony of America. Twenty-five of the 
fifty-six immortal men had trod the soil and studied in 
the institutions of Great Britain. Among those who 
had not received university laurels, were philosophers 
like Franklin and jurists like Roger Sherman. 

In this connection, we should not torget the stripling 
survevor, born on the banks of the Potomac, beneath a 
farmer's roof, and early left an ori)han. No academy 
aided his youthful aspirations, no college crowned him 
with its honors. But industry and integrity pro- 
vided for the best education of his great natural powers. 
" Himself his own cook, having no spit but a forked stick, 
no plate but a large chip," at sixteen years of age, he is 
found roaming over the Alleghanies and along the She- 
nandoah, training himself under the eye of Heaven, one 



FlKI.Drt OF |;AK1,Y AMERICAN KI.OaTJ r.Nf'K. 40 

day to be the hope luul leader ol' a nation in anus. Most 
truly might he have said : 

"To \c:\Y inc \v;is llic task of powiM' Tliviiio, 
Sii[)ii'im'.--t wi.sdoai and priaifxal lovo." 

In the language of Sparks, " I lapp) was it for America, 
happy for the world, that a great name, a guardian ge- 
nius, presided over destinies in war, combining more 
than till' \ iriues of the lloman l"\ibius, and the Theban 
J'ipaiuiiioiidas, and conipart'd with whom, llu^ eoiujuer- 
ors of the world, the vMexandrrs and (^a'sars, are but 
])agcants crinisoned with blood and decked with the tro- 
phies ol" slaughter, objects eiiuallv of the wonder and the 
execration of mankind. 'I'he hero of America, was tlie 
conqueror only of his country's foes, ;m<l the hearts of 
his countrymen. To the one he was a terror, and in 
the other he gained an ascendancy, sn|)r(>me, um'ivalled, 
the tribute of admiring gi"alitu(l(\ the reward of a nation's 
love — our \VAsiiiiv(iToN ! " 

The congress of '7(5 has assembl(Ml, and solemn prayer 
has just been olfered for the divine blessing on the coun- 
try and in behalf of th(> patriotic cause. Let us enter 
the hall and contemplate the august assemblage. The 
lirsl thing that strikes us is, the wonderful diversity of 
cliaractiu" present, constituting a ])erfect whole. The 
(]uality that is deficient in on{\ in another superaliounds ; 
wher(^ one is wise to construct a theory, another is 
C(iually skilful to demonstrate its practicability. Whe- 
ther we desire severe logical deduction, or gorgeous rhe- 
torical expression ; whether it be necessary to convince 
the jndgnient or inflame the passions; no nnodels can in 



50 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

tlie world be found superior to those here congre- 
gated. 

In th(^ President's chair sits Hancock, crowned with 
a demeanor graceful and sjilendid, like " blazing Hype- 
rion on his orbed throne."' rroniinent in the heroic band, 
and oldest of their number, is he who at the same time 
snatched the lightnings from the skies and the sceptre 
from the opi>ressor's iiand. There, too, is Morris, the 
financier of the Revolution, whose generous aid, ad- 
vaneeil on his own crcilit. paved the way for the victo- 
ries at Trenton and Princeton, and in the gloomiest hour 
caused the American eagle to soar aloft toward Heaven. 
jMore retired, but not less interested, is that old Pu- 
ritan, Samuel Adams, "on his front, engraven thought 
and jniblic care." He was among the very first to excite 
pojuilar rebellion au'ainst wrong, and he is here to aid its 
progress and pay tor its consummation. Of few words, 
but abounding in great and beneficent deeds, he sits in 
council grave and taciturn, like "gray-haired Saturn 
quiet as a stone," his soul firm as granite and unbending 
before the storm. His more oratorical namesake, .Tohn 
Adams, with watchful eye and ear is scanning the pro- 
ceedings ; while every look and motion betrays his readi- 
ness to exemplify his t'avorite maxim, " I would rather bo 
in the wrong with Plato than in the right with Epicurus." 
Lee, with inimitable suavitv and elaborate crace, moves 
in chivalrous majesty on the scene. Witherspoon, the 
divine, " visibly written blessed in his looks." is there, 
with the meekness of a minister of Jesus Christ, but 
with a firmness that never quailed in the presence of his 
country's i'oe. In the alternative between the sacrifice 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOaUENCE. 51 

of freedom or the loss of life, like the Spartan mother, 
he would rather have seen his son brought home a corpse 
upon his shield, than dishonored by its loss. And Rut- 
ledge, the youngest of the patriots, comes forward to illus- 
trate in his own person the ancient .apologue of the 
youthful Hercules, in the pride and strength of beauty, 
surrendering his entire soul to the worship of exalted 
virtue. But it is needless any further to specify; all, as 
one man, are ready to exclaim, our mother is America, 
our battle is for freedom, purity of purpose is our breast- 
plate, and the favor of Heaven is our shield. 

In the momentous proceedings of July 4th, 1776, we 
miss the persons of several of the most famous men 
in our colonial and revolutionary history. Their ab- 
sence strikingly indicates the care of Providence in all 
great events. Bold and daring patriots, with the most 
intrepid zeal, had long since roused the colonies and 
stung them into indignation against tyrannic wrongs. 
Those pioneers of national prosperity had urged on tlio 
fearful crisis, and at length the period had arrived when 
everything was at stake. But when counsel was needed 
most, and the action of sublime statesmanship com- 
menced, the men of passion declined, their mission 
being gloriously fulfilled. He who rules over all with- 
drew them from the scene. Otis, disal)lcd by a brutal 
attack made on him by a British emissary, lay secluded 
fiom public life. Henry was indeed sent up to Con- 
gress, with one ellbrt of almost divine eloquence to 
break the spell that at first bound the assembly in awful 
silence; then he withdrew, and was little heard of more. 
The successors of these primitive patriots were not less 



50 OKATOKS Ol' 'llIK AMKRICAN KKVOI.TTTION. 

rosolulo, l)ut niorc^ discreet. A couseionsness of flie 
ioarful responsibility devolved \\\)oi\ ihem by their posi- 
tion, seems to have rendered them solemnly reflect ivo 
and snblinu'ly self-jtossi^ssed. To di'scribe their elo- 
qu(Mict> w ill be the purpose of subsequent chapters ; at 
present, we will look only at one grand es^ent and its 
nssociations — the Dcchirdlion of IiidrpriK/oicr. 

One whom \vt> have not yi>t named, but in some re- 
p]i(H'ts the most reno\vt\ed oi' men, .lelVerson, apjiears 
before Congress, bearing in his hand that noblest of all 
di>eunuMits not the rt^sult of inspired wisdom. '' W^hether 
we regard it as a spicimen of strong and lervid eKxpience, 
of manlv remonstrance, or of deep and solemn appeal, it 
is ev(My way sustained and wonderful. The writer 
speaks ;is if he ft'lt himst^lf to l>e the vt>ice of a gi'cat and 
outraged people, giving indignant utterance to its many 
Avrongs and oppressions, and in face of Heaven, and the 
wlu>le earth for witnesses, declaring that they shall be 
endured no longer." 

The (]uestion-was on the adoption of the l\xdaration. 
We should consider the character of that document, and 
l!u> eirenmstanees under which it was rep(>rtc>d. It has 
been called the ("Ihart of American Freedom; but it was 
vastlv more elevated than the famous JMagna Charta 
wrung from King John at Runnymede. There is some 
reseniblauce in the original ol' \\\c two documents, but 
their spirit is very little alike. John Lackland, as he 
was called, levied heavy contributions on the barons, 
and sei/.ed at his jileasure their beasts of bualen and 
agricultural implements. This touched the selfish in- 
terests of the owners of the serfs and soil. It is a singu- 



FIELDS OF EARLY AMERICAN ELOUUENCE. 53 

lar fact that llie great instrument of English freedom had 
no nobler origin than this. It scorns still more strange 
that one Article of that great charter- l"orl)ids the destruc- 
tion of houses, woods, or men, without the special })er- 
mission of the proprietor, who had full j)o\ver over the 
lile of Englishmen. The haughty slave-holding barons 
who extorted Magna Charta from King John, did not in 
the least consult the welfare of the plebeian orders. 
Nullus lihcr homo, is its domineering j)hraseology. The 
vassals who were chained to the soil, were left just where 
Magna Charta found them. No mistake can be greater 
than to suppose that the war of the barons against the 
infamous king was waged for the benefit of the great 
mass of the people, or that the treaty of llunnymede se- 
cured their liberties. Certain great privileges were 
exacted, it is true, but the end designed was far aside 
from popular freedom. 

On the other hand, the first sentence in the American 
Chart of '70 recognizes the equality of mankind, and the 
Declaration proceeds to demand the highest privileges 
lor all. The conlhcts in which our fathers signalized 
their courage and their strength were in the defence of 
exalted princii)les, and the resources they chietly relied 
on were moral. They did not desire to arm themselves 
in the spirit of those 

" Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones, 
Whose table earth ; whose dice were human bones." 

The circumstances under which that Declaration was 
reported and discussed were of the most impressive 
character. A proposition was brought forward in favor 



51 oHATdUS (»K 'I'm; aimi'.imcan itr,v<ti,irri(»N. 

of so));iriitiii<i; tlu^ coloiiit's Iroiii llio |);ircMit. country. The 
jj^riiiul (|ucsti(»ii lln'ii :i<fit:it(Ml \v;is l>(>t\V(MMi 1)()\\(M' ;iiul 
i'ii;;lil. 'I'lic oniloi's scciiicd lo led ;iii(l s|H';ik ;is il (licy 
(•l(MiI) s;i\v tlint ill llic ilccisidii tlicii lo lu' iikkIc 1;i\' tllO 
lilxTlics ol three luillidits ol colonists, ;is well ;is tlio 
lioiK's of all the civilized nations that shoulil ihencelorth 
peo|)|e the eartli. The dep )sitaiies oi the imiiu'diate 
and prospi'clivo rights ol" mankind were not unl'aithl'ul to 
thiMi' trust. 'J'hcy seceded Ironi tlu'ir iii!;e and elevated 
thenist>lves ahove it. They cn)er,<j;ed iVoni the duhious 
ntniospheii' ol onlinar\' views, and stood in I'ahn gran- 
deur on tlu^ serenest hi>ij;hts of political prophecy. 
'I'hev assendiled around the sacred shrine ol' liberty, and 
luiiii-r the intlneiiee ol' the lolliest ins|tiration, consulted 
\\\c eternal wants ol" man, and legislated lor all eominu; 
lime. Napoleon said to his stall" as they entered the 
hattle ol" the Pyramids, " 'I'hink that forty centuries 
look down upon y(>u from the summits t»l" yonder 
monuments. " 

l>ut onr ))atriolii' siivs look a more compridiensive 
view, from a hii^her jioint, and under convictions of ;i 
more solen\n east. \\ ith a lull i-onsciousness of the 
perils they incurred, tlu'y voted iW the l>cclai'atiou. 

A classic poet has descrihed Heaven itself as survey- 
int;' with i>leasui"e tlu> scene of "a l>ra\'e man stru^^Tui!^ 
with the storms o[' l"ati\" If thi.s is allowabli", w t> think 
a much sul>linuM- spec-tacle is presented by a brave na- 
tion struuulinii; for freedom and independence, especially 
when thi> odds are so !j;reat as in the instance under 
I'onsideration ; a few feeble colonies on one side, numer- 
ous disciplined troops, veteran skill, and all the vast 



FII:M)H of KAItl.Y AMKUICAN KI.OCIU lONl.'K. 55 

resources of despotic powiM* <m tlio other. Hut tlio 
question w.is ii(»l wliiit is salety to ourselves, but \vli:it 
is duly lo oin" couslilueiils, our successoi's, the world. 
J'liu'li iiiun oi tliciu :;eenis to li:ive set, his uiune l.o lh:il 
JMiniorljd )i!ed^n;(i wiih the feelings with which LeonidMS, 
in view of inevit:ii)lc, iuid speedy ininiolalioii on tiu; ;dl;u' 
ol his country, oxchiiniccl: 

" Hut yc rocks of 'J'herniopylie, free mountains and 
happy plains, yo will remain!" 

'J'he ('()n<j;ress ol '7(5 was a mor(; than Amphictynnio 
council, in the intellitfence and devotion of which one 
mi,i;ht safely predict iIk^ perp(^tuity of national slr(>ni!;th 
at home and ineicusin!^ in(lu(Uice ahroad. Profound 
and impassioiiale consrci'atioM possessed (wery hreast, 
unit("d the ( \)iini-e:,s in one pnrpose, and electi'ihed tho 
whole coiilincnl. I'iVejy funnily of the human soul was 
summoned to the hijj;hest <luly, and hraced up to tho 
most intense exertion. The liiijht then kindled in Inde- 
pendenco Hall sccmcMl to he; immediately i-e(lected hack 
from every cotla<j;(! in Ameri(;a, and at every moment 
since has gone on spn-adinu; wider and hrij^hter over 
j)rison and palace round the j^lohe. 

The pen with which the several sii;iialures \\'er(^ made 
on the I )eclaiali(Hi ol Independences is now in the cahi- 
net of tlu! Massachusetts llist,ori(;al Society, to,<fethcr 
with a s(!aled vial lull of tea, cau<,,dit in the shoes of one 
of the "Mohawks" who destroyed the; obnoxious curi^oes 
in l{oslon harbor. What Ameri(;;m can l<tok upon 
those memorials wilhonl emotions of iIk; purest and most 
thrilling gratitude ? 

Those patriots have all passed away, each one deserv- 



50 OIlAI'dllS OK TIIK AMKUICAN K T. VDI.HTION. 

iiig iho encoiniuin of I'l'iiclcs, "No cili/en tlirough their 
mrans c\ry \ni\ on luounrmjjj :" 

"'J'lu'v wcio bi'low, ere tlicy arriveil ii\ lieavon, 
So niiglity ill leimwii, ;is every muse 
Might j;r;u'e lu'i- liiuin|ili willi lliciu.'' 

Tlic liiT^lilcst thiiit;' ;il)(nit the ('oiii;ivss of '7(> \v;is flio 
iiit(\U,iih wliii'li ils iiiciiihcis |)l('(li;(-(l in licliniror tluMC 
(.'omiiioM rouiitiN . 'IMumt livos wcio diNU" to tlu'in, iIumt 
lortuni's \\(M'(> :iiii|)l(\ hut lliiMC sncivd honor was their 
C'hoic'(>st wcallli and i;r(\'itt"st j^loi y. 'They cncounliMi'd 
hardships ol (he most Iciirlul n\ai:;nitudt\ and Icmptations 
of tho grcati'st jiowor, hut not oiu* o\ thoni hesitated u 
inoineul hi his allogiance to duly, or swerved in the 
sHi;hl(>st decree iVoni the chseliarge ol it. Thi^v were 
not only all true to their solemn vows, hut not a single 
stain ever soihvl the escutcheon of ont» ol them. 'I'lu'y 
were n^puhlicans to the last. Tht^ nohle sentiments 
liroclaimcd to the world «>n .Inly llh. I7'7(>, their authors 
never helied. As ;i class, they were remarkahly frugiil 
and temperate, and nearly all o[' them lived to extreme 
old au,iv l''t>r iiiteHigtMici". |)at riot ism. purity ol lite and 
lovallv to counli'v. tlu> history ol" tlu> world at large has 
nothing l(> ctMupare N\ith the names oi' the immortal 
lil'ly-six. 

If other hattle lields are intert^sting in their associa- 
tions, what shall we shall say oi' that glory ol" PhihuU'l- 
|)hia, lnd(>pendcMice Hall":' "It" there he a spot up(Mi 
earth. " savs l>octor Clarke, " pre-eminently calculated 
to aw.iken the solemn sentiments, which such a vii-w of 
nature is lilted to make ujion all men, it may surely he 



FIRI.DH OV I'.AUI.Y AMKIMCAN Kl.oau KM* 'K. 57 

ibund ill lli(> phiiii of IM;ir:i,tIi<)ii ; \vlu'i'i>, aiiiidsl. llio 
urcH'k (»r ifciicrnlioiis, mikI the i!;i":ivcs of ancient, lu-rocs, 
we elevate our tliouglils luwards lliin, 'in whoso sight a 
thousand years are but as yesterday ;' where the still- 
ness of Nature; hartnoni/ing with the calm solitude of 
that illuslrious i-('!j;i()n, which onco was ihc scene of the 
most a<i;itat(?d passions, enahles us, hy the past, to deter- 
mine oi' th(>- future. Jn those monienis, indeed, we may 
he said to live for ages ; a single instant, i»y the niullitudo 
ol impressions it conv(>ys, seems to anticipate for us a 
S(nise ol" that eternity ' when time shall ho no more;' 
when the litful dream of human existence, with all its 
turhuleiit illnsions, shall he dis|>elled ; and the last sun 
haviiii;- set, in the last of the world, a. I)rii!;ht('r dawn than 
ever fjjladdened tli(^ universe, shall i-enova,l(^ the domin- 
ions ofdaikness and of death." 

Hut totlu^ Iree citizens of this contincMit, tlu^ powcM' of 
local associations is mon^ ])owerful in the ])re(rincts of 
Independeiuie Hall than on th(^ plains of Marathon. 
Collisions with a minhlier ioe, and deeds of darinji; |)Ut 
torth loj- richer con(iuests, took place there, than when 
heroic (ireeks grappled with the Persian host. What 
histoi}-, vvh.at picture, could ev(!r tell the half of what is 
suggested to eveiy iiitelli<i;eiit and snsceptihh^ mind on 
entering that venerable hall? Who is not immediatcdy 
carried back to. that day, thenceforth memorable lor ever, 
when an awful stillness pervaded the assembly for several 
moments pr(^vions to voting " that thes(^ United ( 'olonics 
are and of right out to he, free and independent states?" 
What devotion then filled that consecrated ])lace, and 

rose to heaven in silent prayer lor lirmncss, unanimity 

3* 



f)8 OliATdHS OF 'I'llM AIM Kit HA N It I', V OI .t'ru > V. 

nnti (l(>!illil('ss icscUc' (hie mIiuosI liciiis I l;mcoc"k sujr. 
gcsliii!' It) I'liinlvlin, " NN C miisl mH Iimhii; lo'^cllicr now." 
" ^ «<s," is llic cliarMi'lcrislir irspousr d' lli;il phiiii old 
INcstor ol |i;ilii(>ls, "wc iinisl iiidt-rd ;ill li;m<; It^i'^tMlicr, 
Of mosi iissiu'odlv w (> sh:ill nil liMiijj; si>|>;ir;ilt>ly." 

IVM'h.'ips lln< oiilv (MJilico in tlit> woiid invt'sh^l with 
jissocinlions :il nil foiui>nrnl>li> Willi tins, wns llu> old 
PiifiiiiiniMil ll(>iis(> ill W csliniiisltM'. It was lliri-(> llinl 
the ( 'onniioiis, in llu'ir IndiKMicss, st>nl loi- llic pndntrs 
lo nid (lu'ir consnllnlioiis. Altciw nrd, wlu-n |Ih> dnvs 
(>i'"llit> usni'|)in;j; hlood lA Lnncnslfi" w tMC pnst. nnd tlu* 
|io\\rr ol lli(> 'rndoi.-; niid \\\o Sliiai'ls \\i>r(> trophies in 
ihni" hands, lht> saiiii' " poor Coininons" idu'iiyalcd iho 
arro!';;inl riv,hls ot ihc p(>crav>\ and dcsiioM-d ili(> \cr\ 
prrlacN loi" whose connstd lht>\ had once siumI. TIumo 
('hai'l("s had coiiu' lo stM/r llu> ohnoxioiis nuMnluM's; 
anil in llu> ("hainlu'r ndJtMinn!'; ihr ( "oniinons. Stallofd 
nnd Land had pleaded. 'rher(\ in l('>r);i, ("roin\\(>ll 
tMitenvl, dismissed \\\v nllendants. loeKed ihe doors, nnd 
nnide hiinseir. as l'r(>ltn'lor, the couneil oi'n nnlion upon 
\\ liostM'onneil I'hamluM" was setMi inseril>i>d. "This houso 
lo lei, nnlnrnished." Thai room, ihe eradle of l''n<.>,iish 
li\M"d(Mn, had wiliit-ssed ihe et)nsnminalion of ^oveni- 
luenlnl power, nnd ils ^n^ah^st possihK* rt'slrielions 
\vilhii\ rtv'.nl limits. I'^rom ICtSS lo its thvstiuelion it 
Imd hetMi lht> !>i\Min ot' the _n'rent«'st (dixpienee and most 
impressi\ t> setMit^s. Th(M"i\ Shallshmy and lM»lin;;l>roko 
hiul sp(>l\en ; tluM(> tVom I* !0. \\\c eonltMifions o[' sue- 
eessi\i> parlies, animated and adorned l>v the spt>(H'hes 
i>t" \\'nlpol(\ \Niinlhnn\. Pulleni^v, Chatham. Hurke. I'itt. 
Fox. mill JShcridan. had biTii loujiht with a, passiouale 



riKM)H OK KAlll.V AMI'.KICAN KMHUIKNC^K,. T)!) 

slrcnplli of iiilcllcci, .-iiiil (he. mi'i;li(y cxcilcmcnt, |)ro- 
duccd Ity llir. (•(•iillicl (•!' nij.';;iiiti(; liiiiuls. Wlit'li lliiit 
,'iiu;i('lil j);il;icc of legislation was (•(Misuirit'd, it. was 
iuiU'cd M MKHinilul si^ht. '!'<> all llic I'iU'.'iisli iialion, 
and llicir colnnics in cvci^y fhnK", a link in llic chain ot' 
liisloiic inlcifsl .•nid ihiilliiijr ussociiil ions was dcslroyod. 
A sjijcndid new |iaJ.ic(' lor l*aili;nncnt is now iisin;i; on 
the s;in\(' silc. Jn accordaiKie, with llui laws of mind, 
and uilli a vviso rcspoct. lor the dislini!;uisli('d dead, llio 
(•onmiissioncrs ol ilic realm liasc recenlly reporlcd in 
res|)(!c.t (lioreto lliat, "as Si. Sleplion's Hall stands on 
tli»^ sjiol where tlu^ llonse of ( 'ommons was, dnring 
miiny ceiilnries, in the haliil ol' assemhliriji;, it. slionid bo 
adorned willi st;i1iies ol men who lose lo emineneei hy 
the (.;lo(|Uenc(> and al)ilili<'s which they displayed in that 
lu)ns(\" 

Ihi! llKVLM'eat h,i! tie -held whereon our lathers met that 
J'arliameul in its mosi anjfnst display of oratorical talent, 
hravcci that threat l<inji;doni with all its consolidated 
strcnfi;lh, and won tlu^ day nnder the most learlnl odds, 
yd rcMuains. The heroes indeed are depar'led, hut hei'c 
before us is still open their sceiu? <d' action. Death has 
claimed them, but war and wasting (rlcmenls have si)arcd 
the theatre ol theii' stupendous slruir,!J,l(\ Wo Can gO 
and meditate \hvvi% ga/ing at the places where they sat, 
the door on which they stood, tlu? windows through 
which the bright sun looked in smilingly upon (heir sub- 
lime transactions, and may touch thci walls which seem 
yet to vibr:ite to the thunders of their elo(|uenc('. 

Long may lhos(Mvalls remain, ihc! JMecM-a, of a worship 
holier than the Saracen's; and when they shall havo 



60 ORATORS OF Tlin AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

passed away, may the genius of American Art, harmoni- 
ous with the Genius of Liberty, her best patron, and 
connneniorative of her grandest woriv, here come, and in 
a worthy master-piece heave up a monument which shall 
perish only 

*' When wrapped in fire the realms of ether glow, 
And heaven's last thunders shake the world below." 

Yes, tlie men of the Congress of '70 have passed away, 
but let us hope that the spirit they evoked, and which 
guidoil thciu to victoiy, is not yet become obsolete. 
Their iauri'ls freshen in rternal bloom on iheir sepulchres, 
and their posthumous inlluence is busy everywhere dis- 
entluaHing the world. May the llame kindled on the 
national altar in the first true Ilall of Freedom, to illu- 
minate and consecrate the Declaration of In(lei)cndence 
in America, burn Avith inextinguishable splendor, quicken 
every tardy pulse with patriotic Z(nd, and blast to cin- 
ders every fetter and every tyrant's accursed throne ! 



CHAPTER II. 
JAMES OTIS, 

ORATOR OP INTKKriD PASSION. 

The planting of English colonies in America was the 
beginning of an influence which stopped not at their 
original boundaries. The world has witnessed its ex- 
pansion. The human race lias felt its power. To the 
world then — to the human race — belongs their influence, 
and in that their greatest glory. 

We are becoming a great nation, and already, per- 
haps, are accustomed to contemplate tiie Colonial period 
of our history as a juvenile era. But, in one sense, we 
have had no national infancy. We have had no age of 
barbarism, no gradual transition from an obscure anti- 
(juity, with much priniitive degradation adhering to our 
career. America, visited by the Anglo-Saxon race, like 
the statue of Prometheus touched by heavenly fire, 
awoke in adult vigor. Iler first cry was for freedom, 
and her first struggle won it. We began with the expe- 
rience of sixty centuries. We laid our foundations in 
the results which accompanied and glorified the opening 
drama of a new world — the sternest battle ever fought 
by right against power. 

About the period of the first settlement of this coun- 



62 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

try, the mental productions before the public in England, 
were of the highest excellence. The discussion of con- 
stitutional principles, and the fervid strife for toleration 
in religious matters, had called forth the most potent in- 
tellectual energies, and produced some of the profound- 
est works in divinity and politics, to be found in any 
age or tongue. As in the ancient republics, and as is 
the fact in every land where the mind of man is allowed 
freely to act and speak, the most eloquent writers and 
profoundest orators were on the side of liberty and the 
rights of the people. As instances and proofs of this, 
put Locke and Algernon Sidney by the side of Filmer 
and the other parasitical advocates of the divine right 
of kings. It is a wholesome lesson and a vigorous dis- 
cipline, to read the leading authors of England who 
flourished between the accession of Charles the First 
and George of Hanover. 

The germs of great principles began to spring up 
abroad, but their first productive growth was in Ameri- 
can soil. A great truth was first proclaimed by our hardy 
Colonists, which has since traversed oceans, and aroused 
continents. It is impossible to exaggerate its ultimate ef- 
fects, not merely upon this western hemisphere, but upon 
the father-land and the remotest east. The first throbs 
of liberty here created the tremendous revolutions of 
Europe, the convulsive spasms of which still agitate the 
oppressed of all lands. The experiment which demon- 
strated the practicability of establishing a self-governing 
republic over a vast domain, is an example which it will 
be impossible for aristocracies, kings, and emperors, 
either to resist or restrain. 



JAMES OTIS. 63 

It was an era of vast energy, a combination of phy- 
sical force and profound erudition, exemplified by the 
French in the prodigies which they executed while truly 
inspired by the genius of liberty. A little army, com- 
posed of soldiers and scholars, subdued cities and pene- 
trated citadels, planted institutes and observatories, 
schools of agriculture, and all the arts of civilization, 
from the valley of the Rhine to the Delta of Egypt. 

But in the birth-place of that spirit, on the sublimer 
field of its primitive conflict and most glorious conquest, 
in the American colonies, the main force was mental 
rather than martial. Eloquence, then, was fervid, bold, 
and gigantic, like the Revolution it defended. Then, 
genius was hailed as a divine gift. No trammels were 
imposed upon imagination — no drag-chains crippled pa- 
triotic aspirations — no limit marked the boundaries up 
to which daring thought might go. 

It should be neither uninteresting nor unprofitable to 
glance back upon those times, and contemplate a few of 
the leading minds. In a sense equally elevated, and 
more relevant to ourselves than Milton expressed, let us — 

" To the famous orators repair, 
Those ancients, whose resistless eloquence 
Wielded at will that fierce democracy, 
Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece 
To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne." 

In considering the eloquence of the Colonial and Re- 
volutionary period of our history, we shall find less va- 
riety in the works of the orators than in the orators 
themselves. So absorbed were the statesmen of those 



(VI (iKATOUS OV TIIK AMKIJKWN 1! i;\ t>I.t T ION. 

(l;(\s in \\\c imiucili;i(i> ;iU(l pn'ssiuo- nvocalions ol iho 
rrisis, lli;il llir\ lnvslow cd lilllt" or no slrtMi^lh on tusks 
not impt'iioush cxarlod liy i;rtMl puMir (liili(>s. Hut wo 
shall liinl such inrii as ( Mis, and Adams, and lliMuy, and 
Hamilton, and Amrs, lim^ omhodimonts oi' our early 
(^lo(|UiMU'c. Thov \\or(> anu>ui); tlu> i;ri>nt and giltoil 
spirits of tlu> heroic ai;»> ot American oratory, and will 
lor ever illustrat(* the i;ran(l(>ur (>i its nuMital i;ras|>, tho 
wciilth ol its ma>;niru-enc(\ and th(> splendor o[' its im- 
perishahle glories. 

The (hislamiK, now widi-lv (>\lendeil in this countiy 
and a i^'ood (U>al dislini;uished, derivcul thiMr origin from 
.lohn(Mis, who canit* over iVom l*inij;land at a very (\n"ly 
pi'riod, and was one ol lhi> fust .siMllcrs (if I linoham. Mass. 
11(> took the rr(>eman's oath on the ,">d o{' iMarch, KJ,'};"). 
\\\ his uioiIum's side, \\c was eoi\niH'leil with the lirst 
loundeis of ri\ mouth Colony, who arrivi>d in th(> Miii/- 
Jloirrr, in 1(»-J(). 

Jan\t<s (>tis. the illustrious suhjeet ot" this sktMc-h, de- 
secMtded in the lilth u'tMKM'alion iVom tht^ lirst ol the name 
in this countrv. was horn at tJrcat .Marshes, in what is 
now i-alled \\'t>st l>arnstahl(\ Vvh. ;->th, nv.*.'). He was 
carefully pri-paied lor college under the care oi' Kev. 
Jonathan Uussidl, \\\c cleriiymau oC the parisiu ami en- 
ItMCii llarxaid in .luni>, l^.'^D. 'VUc lirst years o\' his 
oollei!,e couist^ Uc seems to ha\ e diwoted more to social tMi- 
jovmiMit than siw (M'(Mnental iliscipliiu^ ; hut in his junior 
year \\c chans^'ed his hahits, and hy thi^ urcatest industry 
did much to redeem lost iwuc. lie ^raduatiul in 17 I. 'l, 
and in due in«ler loi>k his seci>nd ilegree. 

Ol' his juvenile traits ol' character, htllc cau now bo 



.lAMKH O'l'lH. (55 

gleaned. Il is known thai when Ik; ciinK^ lionui fioni 
Collcf^^c, liis love <>l sindy vv;is inlciisc and |M'i|M'ln;il. In 
general lie \v;is nicdilalisc and .u;ravc, hnl occasion.'dly 
was ^^ay and sarcaslic. Jlc, sonietinics l){'<j;nilcd tlui 
\V(N'iriii(!SS of ahstrael, sju'cnlation by |>layin<^ <in a violin. 
A coniiiany ol yoniii^ IM-opIc one; day prevailed on liini 
to Ireal llieni (o a, country d;uie<5. 'I'lie S(rl. was nia(l(5 
ii|i, and when in th(^ fnll tideol sneeesslid experinient, 
he snddenly slopped, ;is if sliiiek with the lolly of liie, 
pnisiiil, and hnilni';' np his inslrnnient, exclaimed, "So 
CJrpheus liddled, and so danced iIk; hniles!" lie rnslied 
into a nei^flihorinir !j;arden, and lorsook the revel loi- a 
noltler oeciipiition. 

Al'ler completing the nsnal course ol' classical sttidiciS, 
Mr. Otis devoted t.vv(j years to clega.nl: lilcratiin!, helori) 
entering upon the study of a, |)r()lession. lie was v(;ry 
lond ol the hesi, poets, and, in the /e;dous ennd.-itioii of 
llicir heauties, he energi/c-d his spirit, and povv(!r of cx- 
prcHsioii. lie, did not, nuM'tily nsad ovcrr tiu! finest, pas- 
sages — he pondered them — Ik; insed liu^ni into his sold — 
and reproduced llmir (charms with ;m eiier;.';y all his own. 
In the, skill of poiirin'j; the whoh; spirit of an iinthor into 
ihe most, familiar exiraci, making IIk^ heart. Meed ;i,t, the 
soi'rows of I lecid)a, and llu^ soul (|n;dv(! nnder the impre- 
cations of Lear — a talent, of iIk; liigluist. utility in popida,r 
address, and capahle of being wielded to the noblest, cuds 
— James ( )lis (ixcielled. 

Mis education w;is lil)er;d, in the trncr and nolile s(!nsc 
ol the term ; in seituiec! Ik; was well gioiinded ; in (dc- 
gaiit letters he was an accomplished scholar ; ;md to tlio 
end ol his brilliant career he |)rosecute([ his studies with 



eo 



(HI A'li'iiM di' 'iiii: A M i;i( It A N it iivoLimoN. 



uiitiriiiij; iiidiisti'v. In llic midst oi iiiiiiiiiicnililo ])i-(>ro.s- 
MiMi:il (nils, lif wi'dIc ii \alii:ilil(- wniK mi LmIIu ('(iin|i()- 
.si til II I, ill II I :iii()llii'i' nil ( iii'i'lv I'l'iisiiih , (III- l.il Icr <>r w Inch 
was iicx'cr piiMislicd, as llicic was llirii iu)(iiTcK h|i(> 
ill llic t'liiiiili'v, Itiit I'ciiiMiiicd ill iiiaiiiis('i'i|)l, and |>fi'islicit 
with all llu^ aiilli(tr"s valiialilr |ia|i('rs. 

In I"; l;), lie |)('"aii llic sliuh <il law in llic ollii't' of 
IM r. (iridli'N, a! llial linu- (lie must ciniiii'iil lawsci' ill 
tlii^ ('(i|iiii\. Ila\in'>; rniislu'd Ins |)i'i-|)ai'at ion ioi' llio 
jiar, III' renins I'd In ri\ iiiniilli in I'"/ IN, and was admiltt'd 
lt> iMiiclicc. Two \rais aUci'waids lir removed to 
JJostoii, iiiid caino rajiidl)' into notice iis nil )iccM)iii|jlislie(l 
ndvoeatc. II is talents were in i (Minisilioii far and near. 
( >ii one occasion lie wen! to llaliiax in the midille of 
winter, to ar<^U(> a very im|ioiiaiil cause. ilis prisati^ 
ntiidies were as iiiet>ssaiit as liis |inl>lic laliors wcvo 
lionoral)|(\ 

In llie spriii)!; ol' \l"i':>, l\lr. (>lis was manied to Miss 
Kiilli ('iiiiiiiii«>;luiiii, the \v\\ heauliliil and accomiilished 
tiaii'ditcr of a wcalllis merchant. TIicn had three cliil- 
drcii, one son and tw(» daiii.ditcis. IM is. ( )|is is r(>|)ri>- 
sented as ha\ in;;- heeii a placid and loini.d matron, hap- 
|Mly ad.'ipled li> niodily. the impetuous renins and recdv- 
less dariii;4- wliiidi so ptM-uliarly adapted Ikm- hushaiid tor 
1 1 u^ great crisis ol iiation:d allairs wIikIi he w as dt'stincd 
ill 11 great (h^grec^ hoth to creatiMuid coiilrol. 

On l\o\<>ml>er ^'(!th. I'?(5S. htMiddri>ss(Ml a letter to i\lr. 
A I ihnr Jones, in whuh inlimalions occur ol' lhi> !i;atluM- 
iiig storm. " All luismess is at a stand here, little goiiii;; 
«>li hesid(«s military iiiiisttMs and reviews, and other 
paniiliuu ol" tht^ rod-i-yiits, sotit Iumc, tlu> Lord, 1 believe, 



J AM KM (I'l'IH. 



67 



only knows lnr \\li;il. I .'Hii ;iiiil iinvc ln'cii li'iiv; ••uii- 

CrriK-d, IIIDI'C Ini' (iic.'il Dllliilli lli;ill III!' llic < 'nlniiii'S. 
Noll iii;i\' null \ oiirsrl vcs, Inil \i>\\ (MiiiicI hi iIic rml 
ruin (lie ( 'ohiiiifs. < 'nr hillici.s wimt ;i j^oud |ic<i|i|c ; \v<i 
li!iv<> lu'cn !i lVr(^ |it(.|ilc, mill il" you will nol Irl us vr- 
Miiiiii so liny loiif;!'!', \\c ^;ll.•|ll he ;i fMfiil |ico|i|i', :iii(l IIki 
|)|-(>sriil iiicMMiiC'; run li;ivr no IciKlciicy liiif lo linsh'ii, 

vvilli v;rf;il i ii|ti(lil y, cAcnts u liiclicv ci y ;•; I iiml lioncsl 

ni:in would wish dcliiycd lor iijffs, if possililc, |ii<'vrnlc<l 
for fvcr." 

huriiifi; llic period t*!* ( 'oloniiil subofdiniilion, ( )lis vviiM 
lilt' coiisImiiI viiidicMlof of Aiiicfic.in liidils ; tuid vvIkmi 
Ki'ilisli usiii'|i,'ilioii l)ci-:iiii(^ lis liurdcnsoiiic :is il wiis un- 
jusl, III" (Icrclidcd Ills counllN liii'li Willi :in rl(M|iir!H'(^ 
VvllosiMilliiiKiln iiilliKMirc lr;iiisrriidcd Iiim ow ii siililniio 
lispirillions. lie now<'d llic seeds of liheily in lliis new 
world, williinil lisiii;.'; lo j^iee llie li;ii\ csl, :iiid, pmlcddy, 
willi<»ul everdi'(>!Uiiinf.!; wliMMiiiif^iiilieeiil erops \v<»uld soou 
lie produced. ISnt lii^ seems to liiive lell liiniseU' predtis- 
lilied lo ;iii e\;illed piiMie <';il'ei'r, iilid knew lli:il lie oe- 
eilpied " :i dicjidliil posi nl olisei\ ill ion, d.il ker cNci'y 
lioiir." 

( 'iii'Uliislniiees do iiol so iiiiK.'li l<iiiii men MS icweid 
(lieiii , lliey devclopc ||ic royiilly of lllose wlio iii'e killi'S 
vvilhoul tile n:mie, and who, elevaled hy ihe lempesl ihey 
were horn lo rule, i'ei<!;u hy force o(" <'h;iracler mid inaii- 
deiir ol' iIioiimIiI, W'illioiil anceslois mid willioiij pro- 
geny, alone of llieir race, llieir mission is a('(t()m|)lish(Hl 
when llie o<-c;i:aoii wliiidi deiiiJilided iheir exislenco Ih 
jiasseil. and lliey llieii disappear, leaving to tho w<.)li(l 
dc.ci'ees whit h are sure lo he perlonned. 



68 oRATons ov the American REvoiiiiTioN. 

In 17G0, George the Second smUlcnly died, and his 
grandson reigned in his stead. Then were edicts issued 
which enabled the king's collectors to con:) pel all sherills 
and constables to attiMid and aid them in breaking open 
houses, stores, cellars, ships, tianiks, &c., iSic, to search 
for goods which it was supposed liad not paid the un- 
righteous taxes imposed by parliament, through the inllu- 
ence of the royal governors, and certain avaricious 
West hidia planters. Dreading the " obstinacy" of the 
Bostonians, the minions of power proposed to try their 
first experinnMit at SakMO. IJnt the Supreme Court, then 
sitting there, ordered that the "great question of the le- 
gality of the obnoxious measure should be argued in 
Boston." "The fire in the (lint shines not till it be 
struck," and this was the occasion wh.en Mr. Otis first 
became famous in history. When the order relating to 
the "Writs of Assistance," as they were called, came 
from I'iiigland, he was Advocate-General oi' the Colony 
of Massachusetts. Deeming them to be illegiil and ty- 
rannical, he refused to enforce them, and resigned his 
ofllce. At the request of the Colonists, he undertook to 
argue against the writs, and met in stern conllict his 
veteran law-teacher, JMr. Gridley, then Attorney-General. 
It was on the occasion of that great argument, that 
James Otis bla/.ed forth, the bold, erudite, brilliant and 
victorious champion of (^olonial rights. Knowing that 
he stood on the innnovable loundation of justice, and 
conscious that he was lortified by the law, he gave a 
\'vcc rtMu to his orat(M'ical j>owers, and soared into re- 
gions of jiatriotic principles new both to himself and the 
w^orld. The doctrines he broached and the conclusions 



JAIMF.S OTIS. 60 

lio deduced, fell like brands of fire on the snmniits of the 
l)()litic:d world, nnd kindled a conlkigralion destined 
to sunder every fetter, and enlighten every human 
mind. 

The lucid im])etuosity of that great speech, dazzled its 
antagonists into awe, and inspired a youthful spectator 
with ;i s]>ii-it of patriotism which lived throu;j;h the suh- 
s(MpuMit sliui2;gle for national I'reedom, and on the niemo- 
r;d)le denlh-day of two Presidents, cried, amid shouting 
millions of happy citizens — "Liberty and Independenco 
for ever !" 

" Otis was a flame of fire," says Joim Adams, in his 
sketch of the scene. " With a promptitude of classical 
allusions, and a, deplh of research, a rai)id summary of 
historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authori- 
ties, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and a 
rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, ho hurried away 
all before him. The seeds of" patriots .and heroes were 
then and there sown. Every man of an innnensely 
crowded audience appeared to mo to go away, as I did, 
ready to take arms against Writs of Assistance. Then 
and there was the first scene of the first act of opposi- 
tion to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. 'I'hen 
and there the child Independence was horn. In fif- 
teen years, that is, in 177(), he grew up to manhood, and 
declared himself free." 

That spark kindled where it fell ; and we shall here- 
after iiave occasion to sliow, how the third I'resi- 
dent of the United States was in a political sense born 
simultaneously with the first cry of hberty enunciated in 
the Colony of Virginia, by the great orator of the South. 



70 ORATORS OF TIIK AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

The question is, perhaps, more curious than profitable, 
which rehites to the source and occasion of the first of 
that sci-ies of events which produced the war of the 
Revolution. INIen have often asked, what was its orij^i- 
nal cause, and who struck the first blow ? This inquiry 
was well answered by President Jefferson, in a letter to 
Dr. Waterhouse of Cambridge, written March 3d, 1818. 

"1 suppose it would be difficult to trace our Revolu- 
tion to its first embryo. We do not know how long it 
was hatching in the British cabinet, before they ven- 
tured to make the first of the experiments which were 
to develope it in the end, and to produce complete par- 
liamentary supremacy. Those you mention in Massa- 
chusetts as preceding the Stamp-Act might be the first 
visible symptoms of that design. Tlie proposition of 
that Act, in 17G4, was the first here. Your opposition, 
therefore, preceded ours, as occasion was sooner given 
there than here, and the truth, I suppose, is, that the op- 
position, in every colony, began whenever the encroach- 
ment was presented to it. This question of priority k; 
as the inquiry would be, who first of the three hundred 
Spartans offered his name to Leonidas. 1 shall be hap]-»y 
to see justice done to the merits of all." 

I^eaving the question as to when and how^ the Revo- 
lution began, let us look at tiie aspect presented by this 
era in the career of IMr. Otis. He took the side of his 
country in the above legal contest, at great pecuniary 
sacrifice, and under other peculiar circumstances which 
made his decision irrevocable. lie was transferred at 
once from the ranks of private life to the leadership of 
opposition against the designs of the British ministry. 



JAMES OTia. 71 

"Although," says President Adams, " Mr. Otis had never 
before interfered in pubhc aflkirs, his exertions on this 
sinjrle occasion secured him a commanding popularity 
with the friends of their country, and the terror and 
vengeance of her enemies; neither of which ever de- 
serted him." 

In the primitive opposition made by Otis to the arbi- 
trary acts of Trade, aided by the Writs of Assistance, 
lie announced two maxims which lay at the foundation 
of all the subsequent war ; one was, that " taxation 
\vithout representation was tyranny," the other, " that 
expenditures of public money without appropriations by 
I he r('))r(!sentatives of tlie people, were arbitrary, and 
tlierefore unconstitutional." This early and acute saga- 
city of our statesmen, led Burke finely to describe the 
political feeling in America as follows; "In other coun- 
tries, the pco[)le, more simple, of a less mercurial cast, 
judge of an ill principle in government, only by an ac- 
tual grievance ; here they anticipate the evil, and judge 
of the pressure of the grievance, by the badness of the 
prinei[)l(;. They augur misgovernment at a distance; 
and snufl' the approach of tyranny in every tainted 
hrcozc." 

Mr. Otis was unanimously chosen to the legislature in 
May, 1761. The chief to[)ic in debate for the session 
was the currency. Governor Ilutcliinson and Otis 
were the leaders. The latter gave proof of great learn- 
ing and powerful reasoning, mingled with great sarcasm 
at his opponent, for whom he seems never to have en- 
tertained either fear or respect. From his first appear- 
ance as a legislalor, Otis exhibited such superiority of 



72 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

talent and energy over all others, that, in 17G3, we find 
him in the full lead of all important measures. In this 
year, Governor Bernard sent a message respecting 
troops, which was strongly resented by our hero. The 
Governor replied in another message, to which Otis, as 
chairman of the committee appointed for that purpose, 
drew up a response, which contamed the following sen- 
tence : 

" No necessity can be sufficient to justify a House of 
Representatives, in giving up such a privilege; for it 
would be of little consequence to the people, whether 
they were subject to George or Lewis, the king of Great 
Britain or the Fre-nch king, if both were arbitrary, as 
both Avould be, if they could levy taxes without Parlia- 
ment." 

When this was read, Mr. Paine, a member from Wor- 
cester, cried out "Treason-! Treason!" but after an 
eloquent speech from Otis, the answer was passed entire 
by a large majority, and sent to the Governor, We 
shall have occasion to notice the striking resemblance 
between James Otis and Patrick Henry in their charac- 
ter and career; the above incident is one of the par- 
allels. 

In 1762, a pamphlet appeared, bearing the following 
title : " A Vindication of the Conduct of the House of 
Representatives, of the Province of the Massachusetts 
Bay : more particularly in the last session of the General 
Assembly. By James Otis, Esq., a Member of said 
House. 

Let such, such only, tread this sacred floor, 
Who dare to love their country and be poor , 



JAMES OTIS. 73 

Or good though rich, humane and wise though great, 
Jove give but these, we've naught to fear from fate. 

Boston, printed by Edes and Gill." 

Instead of copious quotations from this patriotic work, 
we present the following judgment upon its merits by 
one best qualified to estimate its worth. " How many 
volumes," says John Adams, "are concentrated in this 
little fugitive pamphlet, the production of a few hurried 
hours, amidst the continual solicitation of a crowd 
of clients ; for his business at the bar at that time 
was very extensive, and of the first importance, and 
amidst the host of politicians, suggesting their plans and 
schemes ! Look over the Declarations of Rights and 
Wrongs issued by Congress in 1774. Look into the 
Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Look into the 
writings of Dr. Price and Dr. Priestley. Look into all 
the French constitutions of government; and to cap the 
climax, look into Mr. Thomas Paine's Common Sense, 
Crisis, and Rights of Man ; what can you find that is 
not to be found in solid substance in this Vindication of 
the House of Representatives ?" 

About 1776, Mr. Otis seemed inclined to a compro- 
mise, and labored to conciliate parties at home and 
abroad. This excited surprise, suspicion and obloquy. 
But events soon proved, that although he relaxed his 
opposition for a while, he had not changed sides. At 
the opening of the legislature in 1765, he resumed his 
wonted standing, and, in the language of John Adams, 
"he on whose zeal, energy and exertions the whole great 
cause seemed to depend, returned to his duty, and gave 
entire satisfaction to the end of his political career." 
4 



74 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

In the course of the same year, 1765, Otis produced 
another work, with the following title : " Considerations 
on behalf of the Colonists, in a Letter to a noble Lord. 
London : printed for J. Almon." The manuscript was 
sent from New England, dated Boston, Sept. 4, 1705. 
It was written with great spirit and ability, and was the 
last printed work from the pen of Otis. 

On the 19th of October, 1765, the Stamp-Act Con- 
gress assembled in New York. Nine colonies were re- 
presented. Mr. Otis was one of the members from IMas- 
sachusetts. Hei'e, as elsewhere, he stood high in the 
opinion of his colleagues, for extraordinary energy and 
talents. 

On his return to the colonial legislature of 1766, Otis 
was appointed chairman of a committee to reply to the 
ansrv message of Governor Bernard. The answer is 
characteristic of its author. They do not dispute the 
governor's right to deliver a speech in any way he 
pleases ; at the same time, when it contained sentiments 
which reflected on them or their constituents, they add, 
" it appears to us an undue exercise of the prerogative, 
to lay us under the necessity, either of silence, or of 
being thought out of season in making a reply. Your 
Excellency says, that these times have been more diffi- 
cult than they need have been ; which is also the opi- 
nion of this House. Those who have made them so, 
have reason to regret the injury they have done to a sin- 
cere and honest people." More follows in the same tart 
strain, which we need not quote. 

During the session of this year, an innovation was 
made in the history of legislation which strikingly indi» 



JAMES OTIS. 75 

cates the progress then made in free thought and freedom 
of speech. On the 3d of Jmie, 17G6, Otis brought for- 
ward a proposition, which was carried, " for opening a 
gallery for such as wished to hear the debates." Thus 
was a harmony first produced between the spirit of a re- 
presentative government and the masses of tiie people ; 
a vast leap in the improvement which tended powerfully 
to difiuse knowledge and create vigilance among the po- 
pulace in respect to their inalienable rights. To that 
little beginning in the patriotic and magnanimous mind 
of Otis, as in many other particulars, we may trace the 
stupendous superiority of this country at present over 
all other nations, in the influence of parliamentary and 
popular speech. 

Repeated revolutions in France have bequeathed to 
that country two Houses of legislation, and a press par- 
tially redeemed from military despotism. But the Peers 
habitually hold their sessions in secret; and the Chamber 
of Deputies can scarcely be called a deliberative body. 
The members read their orations from a contracted pul- 
pit, to few or no listeners from among the people. Should 
a debate chance to grow warmly eloquent, any orator 
who might hazard an obnoxious sentiment against the 
crown, is liable to be immediately marched out by an 
armed force. 

The legislature of England is scarcely more propitious 
to free and effective eloquence. In theory, the House 
of Commons contains about seven hundred members ; 
in practice, debates occur and laws ai-e enacted usually 
in the presence of fifty or sixty. Most of the bills are 
drafted, not by members, but by clerks hired for that 



76 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

purpose ; leaving the dignitaries to relieve the stupidity 
of their stammering debates with frequent cries of "hear, 
hear \" No popular audience is permitted ; only a few 
bystanders can gain admittance in an obscure gallery, 
and that under very inconvenient restrictions. Reports 
of debates are unauthorized, and of course imperfect. 
No visitor is allowed to have pen or pencil in his hand 
in Parliament. To render the matter worse, by a strange 
perversion of the hours, unknown in any other country 
or age, most of the important legislation transpires in 
the dead of night, when those who are sane and sound, 
and who desire to remain so, are reposing in bed, rather 
than yawning on the lordly woolsack and the soft chairs 
of state. 

There are but three legislatures in the world that are 
popular, even in form. We have glanced at two of 
them, and it is evident that they present a meagre field 
for eloquence, compared with the American Congress. 
In the British Parliament, for instance, there are not at 
present, and never were in its best condition, more than 
two or three at any one time, actuated by the great im- 
pulses of oratory. When some of the best productions 
accredited to the best days of Parliament were praised. 
Dr. Samuel Johnson said, " those speeches I wrote in a 
garret." But the masterly eloquence of our Congress 
has no such origin ; it is partly inspired and fully veri- 
fied by the crowds of freemen who throng free galleries, 
a right which James Otis early perceived, and happily 
procured. 

Another important feature in the unfolding of our 
free institutions, was the system of town-meetings which 



JAMES OTIS. 77 

began to be held as early as 1767. One held in October 
of that year was presided over by Ofis, and was called 
to resist new acts of British aggression on colonial 
rights. On Sept. r2th, 1768, a town-meeting was held, 
which was opened with a prayer by Dr. Cooper. Otis 
was chosen moderator. The petition for calhng the 
meeting requested, that inquiry should be made of 
his Excellency, for " the grounds and reasons of sundry 
declarations made by him, that three regiments might 
be daily expected," &c. A committee was appointed 
to wait upon the governor, urging him in the present 
critical state of affairs to issue precepts for a general 
assembly of the province, to take suitable measures for 
the preservation of their rights and privileges ; and that 
he should be requested to favor the town with an im- 
mediate answer. 

In October several ship-loads of troops arrive. The 
storm thickens. Another town-meeting is called, and 
it is voted that the several ministers of the Gospel be 
requested to appoint the next Tuesday as a day of 
fasting and prayer. The day arrives, and Faneuil Hall 
is crowded by committees from sixty-two towns. They 
petition the governor to call a General Court. Otis 
appeared in behalf of the people, under circumstances 
that strongly attest his heroism. Cannon were planted 
at the entrance of the building, and a body of troops 
were quartered in the representatives' chamber. After 
the court was opened, Otis rose, and moved that they 
should adjourn to Faneuil Hall. With a significant 
expression of loathing and scorn, he observed, " that the 
stench occasioned by the troops in the hall of legislation 



78 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

might prove infectious, and that it was utterly deroga- 
tory to the court to administer justice at the points of 
bayonets and mouths of cannon." 

Soon after this, Mr. Otis was violently assaulted at 
the British coffee-house in State street, by a miscreant 
named Robinson. Five or six bludgeons, and one 
scabbard, were found on the scene of murderous attack, 
from which the assassin retreated through a back pas- 
sage. Mr. Otis was cruelly lacerated in body and 
shattered in mind by this assault, to a degree from which 
he never entirely recovered. 

But the bloody 5th of March soon arrived, and with 
it, nearly on the same spot, the massacre of citizens was 
perpetrated by mercenary troops. This aroused a whole 
people to the full atonement of outrageous wrongs. 

In 1770, mutilated and dispirited, Mr. Otis retired to 
the country in pursuit of health. The town of Boston, 
on the 8th of May, passed a special vote of thanks 
to him for his great public services, accompanied with 
strong solicitude for his recovery. 

In the debate on the Boston Port Bill in Parliament, 
April 15th, 1774, Colonel Barre referred to the ruf- 
fianly attack made on Mr. Otis, and his treatment of 
the injury, in a manner that reflects honor on both of 
the orators. "Is this the return you make them?" 
inquired the British statesman. " When a commis- 
sioner of the customs, aided by a number of ruffians, 
assaulted the celebrated Mr. Otis, in the midst of the 
town of Boston, and with the most barbarous violence 
almost murdered him, did the mob, which is said to 
rule that town, take vengeance on the perpetrators of 



JAMES OTIS. 79 

this inhuman outrage against a person who is supposed 
to be their deaiagoirue ? No, sir, the law tried them, the 
law gave heavy damages against them, which the 
irreparably injured Mr. Otis most generously forgave, 
upon an acknowledgment of the offence. Can you 
expect any more such instances of magnanimity under 
the principle of the Bill now proposed ?" 

The allusion here is to the fact that when the jury 
had awarded to Mr. Otis two thousand pounds sterling, 
as damages, it was all relinquished as soon as Robinson 
publicly confessed the wrong. Said the noble-hearted 
sufferer, " It is impossible that I should take a penny 
from a man in this way, after an acknowledgment of 
his error." Such magnanimity had ever been a trait 
prominent in Mr. Otis. He was distinguished for gen- 
erosity to both friends and foes. Governor Hutchinson 
said of him; "that he never knew fairer or more noble 
conduct in a pleader, than in Otis; that he always 
disdained to take advantage of any clerical error, or 
similar inadvertence, but passed over minor points, and 
defended his causes solely on their broad and substantial 
foundations." When he plead against Writs of As- 
sistance he did it gratuitously, saying, " in such a cause, 
I despise all fees." But in that contest there was 
something nobler exhibited than superiority to mer- 
cenary consideration. "It was," says the venerable 
President so often quoted, " a moral spectacle more 
affecting to me than any I have since seen upon the 
stage, to observe a pupil treating his master with all the 
deference, respect, esteem, and affection of a son to a 
father, and that without the least affectation ; while he 



80 ORATOUH or Tin: AMr.lUCAN UKVOM'TION. 

bafllecl and confounded all iiis autlioiitics, confuted 
all his arguments, and reduced him to silenee! The 
crown, hy its nij^ents, aeeumuhiled eousf ruction upon 
consti'uclioii, and iideriMiee upon inference, as the giants 
heaped IVMion uihui Dssa ; but Otis, like Jupiter, dashed 
this whole building to pieces, and scattered the ])ulver- 
i/,ed atoms to the tour winds ; and no judge, lawyer, or 
crown ollicor dared to say, why do ye so ? lie raised 
such a storm of indignation, that even Hutchinson, 
who had b(>en appointed on purpose to sanction this 
writ, dared not utter a. word in its iavor, and Mr. 
Cridley himself si'cmed to me to exult inwardly at the 
glory and triun)|)h of his pupil." 

The ardent devotion to literature which distinguished 
Mv. (His early in life, and characterized his subse(iuent 
career, remained j)redomina,ut in the evening of his 
days. His stores of knowledge were diversified and 
e\tren\ely abundant. I'aen alter he sulliMed the shock 
which occasioned temporary insanity, ho seized with 
aviihty every opportunity for discussing literary topics, 
his strong memory and copious acquisitions always 
enabling him to lake the lead. 

The above sketch of the mental character and political 
career of .lames Otis, will enable us tlie better to analyse 
his eltxiuence. But, unfortunately, few of his rhetorical 
productions are now extant. A sad fatality attended 
all his manuscripts. None of his speeches were fully 
recorded, and he himself being cut olV from active life 
before the lu'xolntion actually conuncMiced, his name is 
connected with none o( the })ublic documents of the 
nation. Ills memorials as an orator are rather tradi- 



JAMES OTIS. 81 

tionary than actual ; we are compelled to estimate his 
merits chiefly through the imperfect descriptions, but 
boundless admiration, of his time. But the mutilated 
fragments that yet survive are colossal, and with these 
for our guide we can in faint idea reconstruct the noble 
proportions of the original works, as Cuvier built up the 
Mastedon from a few relics, and Michael Angelo, with 
the Torso of the Vatican before him, projected anew 
the master-piece of Grecian genius on a scale of artistic 
grandeur which threw into insignificance all the con- 
ceptions of cotemporary minds. 

There is sublimity in the very idea of one man 
presuming to brave such perils and power as Mr. Otis 
was called to face. 

" We can admire the man who dares a lion, 
But not the trampler on a worm." 

The era in which he was born was favorable to the 
exercise of his peculiar gifts. The time to favor free- 
dom, the set time for the advent of a powerful advocate 
of popular rights, like Otis, had come ; the corypheus 
appeared and brought the proper talents with him. 
His eloquence was bold, witty, pungent, and practical. 
His boldness was a prominent trait, and the sure 
precursor of powerful changes. Men adapted to the 
wants of their age are never wanting. When por- 
tentous storms are lowering — when the battles of 
freedom are approaching — when the excited ocean of 
human thought and feeling waves around some firm, 
heroical leader, as where "the broad-breasted rock 
glasses his rugged forehead in the sea " — then are the 
4* 



82 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

unutterable effects of eloquence produced less by the 
genius of the speaker, than by the sympathy of the 
audience. They receive with rapture what their own 
ardor has half inspired. 

From the life and education of Mr. Otis, we should 
infer that his eloquence would be naturally and ex- 
tremely bold. The mind grows by what it feeds on ; 
it becomes invigorated and fashioned both by its 
aliment and exercise. Every original thought, and 
every genuine utterance imparts to a speaker new 
force of will and increased felicity of speech. The 
more one's mind shapes excellence to itself and bodies 
it forth in efforts to promote noble ends, the more is its 
native capacity to create substantiated, and its happy 
power of execution increased. Our passions are the 
most potent artists ; they surround themselves with fit 
occasions, assimilate to themselves appropriate mate- 
rials; and, when wisely disciplined in a sphere com- 
mensurate with their ability, they people the void of 
longing hearts with beautiful forms, and store the king- 
dom of thought with imagery, familiar or fantastic, 
radiant and divine, suited to every class and every 
theme. 

Otis communed much with other minds, but more 
with his own. He was erudite, and yet original; 
courteous in his deference to the opinions of others, 
out bold and daring in his own investigations. He 
was supple as a babe to appeals that were conciliating 
and motives that were just; but in the presence of 
arrogance and oppression, he was stubborn as rock. 
Legions of armed tyrants were to his bold and indomi- 



JAMES OTIS. 83 

table spirit things to be trampled on in sport, " like 
forms of chalk painted on rich men's floors for one 
feast night." 

The wit exemplified by Mr. Otis in debate was often 
keen but never malignant, as in John Randolph. The 
attacks of the latter were often fierce and virulent, not 
unfrequently in an inverse proportion to the necessity 
of the case. He would yield himself up to a blind and 
passionate obstinacy, and lacerate his victims for no 
apparent reason but the mere pleasure of inflicting 
pangs. In this respect, the orator of Roanoke resem- 
bled the Sicilian tyrant whose taste for cruelty led him 
to seek recreation in putting insects to the torture. If 
such men cannot strike strong blows, they know how 
to fight with poisonous weapons ; thus by their malig- 
nity, rather than by their honorable skill, they can 
bring the noblest antagonist to the ground. But Mr. 
Otis pursued more dignified game and with a loftier 
purpose. He indeed possessed "a Swiftian gift of sar- 
casm," but, unlike the Dean of St. Patrick's, and the 
forensic gladiator alluded to above, he never employed 
it in a spirit of hatred and contempt towards the mass 
of mankind. Such persons should remember the words 
of Colton, that, " Strong and sharp as our wit may be, 
it is not so strong as the memory of fools, nor so keen 
as their resentment ; he that has not strength of mind 
to forgive, is by no means weak enough to forget ; and 
it is much more easy to do a cruel thing than to say a 
severe one." 

The following extract from his Vindication of the 



84 ORATORS OF TliZ AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Colony of Massachusetts, in 1762, will illustrate both 
the boldness and wit of Mr. Otis : 

"In order to excuse, if not altogether justify the 
offensive passage, and clear it from ambiguity, I beg 
leave to premise two or three data. 1. God made all 
men naturally equal. 2. The ideas of earthly superior- 
ity, pre-eminence, and grandeur, are educational, at 
least, acquired, not innate. 3. Kings were (and planta- 
tion governors should be) made for the good of the 
people, and not the people for them. 4. No govern- 
ment has a right to make hobby horses, asses, and 
slaves of the subject ; nature having made sufficient of 
the two former, for all the lawful purposes of man, from 
the harmless peasant in the field, to the most refined 
politician in the cabinet, but none of the last, which 
infallibly proves they are unnecessary." 

Another striking trait in the eloquence of James Otis 
was its pungency. He was eminently natural, intelli- 
gent, and in earnest. As completely armed as he was 
with scholastic tools, yet, in his public speeches he 
never played the artificial rhetorician. No sooner did 
he face his audience than he resigned all to the noble 
impulses of his ardent nature, and sought a connection 
of ideas more than of words — or rather, he sought no 
relation, and thus wielded the true one ; for passion, 
when deep and honest, has a logic more compact, and 
more convincing even, than reason. Figures that are 
striking, emotions that are fleeting, intermingled with 
close reasoning and calm repose, constitute a style of 
address universally popular, because adapted to our 
nature. Thoughts must not present a dry, anatomical 



JAMES OTIS. 85 

form, allowing the spectator coolly to count the muscles, 
the tendons, and the bones ; they must be clothed with 
flesh, all glowing with latent heat that gives the body 
quick motion, and makes it tremble with the energies 
of immortal life. The fragments of oratorical composi- 
tions which remain to us of Mr. Otis, are marked hy 
sudden transitions, bold imagery, rapid reasoning, stern 
deductions, and overwhelming appeals. He was fear- 
less, impetuous, and imperiously independent. These 
are the mental qualities which constitute a fascinating 
orator. 

One who is accustomed to extemporaneous speech in 
popular assemblies, and is therefore self-possessed, has 
a great advantage over the frigid thinker who never 
looks for strong effects but through elaborate premedita- 
tion. When one can create thought rapidly on his feet, 
and has the G;race of confidence in everv situation, 
ascends the rostrum to harangue the multitude on any 
topic that admits of an appeal to the feelings, the first 
flash of his spontaneous soul creates a sympathetic 
communication between himself and his fascinated 
audience. That which is thus begun in pleasure and 
continued with a perpetually augmented force, is an 
agency of great power, and may be subordinated to the 
most useful ends. At every new touch of feeling, the 
popular heart swells with enlarged conceptions ; at each 
loftier flight of fancy, a thousand eyes sparkle with 
delight or swim in emotion. All this tide of feeling in 
turn reacts upon the susceptible orator and rapidly 
accumulates around him the force of conviction. In 
this electrical communication between excited souls, the 



86 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

whole man is wrought up to the highest pitch of mental 
action, ardent and irresistible as the blazing torrent of 
a volcano. The faults of such speakers are palpable, 
but their excellences place them immeasurably beyond 
the abilities and fame of ordinary men. 

It might be said of the fervid style in which Mr. Otis 
was wont to speak, as was said of the most renowned 
orator of antiquity. It is scarcely possible to divide his 
speeches, like those of most men, into argumentative 
and declamatory passages. " Logic and rhetoric are 
blended together, from the beginning to the end ; the 
speaker, while always clear and profound, is always 
rapid and impassioned. The vivid feeling displayed at 
intervals by other orators, bursis forth in him with every 
sentence. We are forcibly reminded of the description 
of lightning in Homer : 

" ' By turns one flash succeeds, as one expires, 
And heaven flames thick with monaentavj' fires.' " 

There is usually more passion than intellect in the 
eloquence w'hich creates revolutions. We are not 
much moved by a little flame that burns for a long time 
with a steady light. But no one is indifferent to those 
conflagrations which suddenly burst through sombre 
clouds and then expire as suddenly as they were born. 
Pindar long since sang of the astonishing eflfects pro- 
duced by that great furnace of nature, Etna, wdiich is 
impressive not by an uniform eruption, but because at 
moments of fear and devastation it hurls up, from its 
profound depths, cinders, rocks, and rivers of flame. It 
is only the grand and extraordinary that is admirable 



JAMES OTIS. 87 

and surprising. The passions are powerful advocates, 
and their very silence, when emotion grows dumb from 
its excess, goes most directly to the soul. 

Many of the most etfective orators, of all ages, 
have not been most successful in long and formal 
efibrts. Nor have they always been close and ready 
debaters. " Sudden bursts which seemed to be the 
effect of inspiration — short sentences which came like 
lightning, dazzling, burning, striking down everything 
before tlietn — sentences which, spoken at critical mo- 
ments, decided the fate of great (juestions — sentences 
which at once became proverbs — sentences which 
every body still knows by heart" — in these chiefly lay 
the oratorical power of Mirabeau and Chatham, Patrick 
Henry and James Otis. 

American elo(iuence has ever resembled our national 
domain, spontaneous and prolific, grand in outline and 
rich in tone. The most refined taste in landscape 
gardening acts on the principle that the greatest excel- 
lence consists in the resemblance to nature — nature 
adorned by a skilful grouping of her own charms 
around an occasional embellishment of art — but in all 
her i)revailing features nature still. Otis was naturally 
elevated in thought, and dwelt with greatest delight in 
the calm contemplation of the lofty principles which 
should govern political and moral conduct. And yet 
he was keenly susceptible to excitement. His intellect 
explored the wilderness of the universe only to increase 
the discontent of those noble aspirations of his soul 
which were never at rest. In early manhood he was a 
close student, but as he advanced in age he became 



88 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

more and more absorbed in public action. As ominous 
storms threatened the common weal, he found less 
delight in his library than in the stern strife of the 
forum. As he prognosticated the coming tempest and 
comprehended its fearful issue, he became transformed 
in aspect like one inspired. His appearance in public 
always commanded prompt and profound attention ; he 
both awed and delighted the multitudes whom his bold 
wisdom so opportunely fortified. " Old South," the 
" Old Court House," and the " Cradle of Liberty," in 
Boston, were familiar with his eloquence, that resounded 
like a cheerful clarion in " days that tried men's souls." 
It M'as then that his great heart and fervid intellect 
wrought with disinterested and noble zeal ; his action 
became vehement, and his eyes flashed with unutterable 
fire ; his voice, distinct, melodious, swelling, and in- 
creasing in height and depth with each new and bolder 
sentiment, filled, as with the palpable presence of a 
deity, the shaking walls. The listeners became rapt 
and impassioned like the speaker, till their very breath 
forsook them. He poured forth a " flood of argument 
and passion" w^hich achieved the sublimest earthly 
good, and happily exemplified the description which 
Percival has given of indignant patriotism expressed in 
eloquence : ■ 

"Its words 
Are few, but deep and solemn ; and they break 
Fresh from the fount of feeling, and are full 
Of all that passion, which, on Carmel, fired 
The holy prophet, when his lips were coals. 
The language winged with terror, as when bolts 



JAMES OTIS. 89 

Leap from the brooding tempest, armed with wrath, 
Commissioned to affright us, and destroy." 

We have said that the eloquence of Otis was bold, 
witty, and pungent ; we remark, in conclusion, that it 
was exceedingly practical. The great body of the 
people comprehend thought and genius most easily 
under the emblems of force ; they are ready to I'espect 
that which they love, and yield willingly to that which 
impels them ; they highly appreciate that which is 
heard with pleasure, and venerate the heart that has 
profoundly moved them. Intellect and emotion consti- 
tute the basis of all effective speech ; but the commanding 
form, stentorian lungs, and flashing eye, are indis- 
pensable adjuncts to the popular speaker. 

The trait which, perhaps, was most prominent in Mr. 
Otis, was his constant and complete forgetfulness of 
himself in the themes he discussed. He explored all 
the resources at command, and, in defending his posi- 
tion, became entirely absorbed. While engaged in 
speaking, he appeared to be absolutely possessed by his 
subject, and thought as little of the skill he should 
display as an orator, as he who is fighting for his life 
thinks of the grace he shall exhibit in the flourish of 
his weapons. Enthusiastic sincerity actuated his great 
native powers, and gave them overwhelming force. 
His was the true eloquence of nature, the language of 
a strong mind under high but well regulated excitement. 
The disenthralment of the Colonies of America was the 
grand ambition of his soul ; and to the attainment of 
this he subordinated all the resources he could com- 
mand. Freedom, of the most exalted kind, was the idol 



90 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

of his heart, and, as he braved the terrors of rebellion 
against sovereign power, he saw nothing, loved nothing, 
with afiection more fixed. In this consisted his best 
qualification for the great work to the execution of 
which, under Providence, he was assigned; 

" For he whom Heaven 
Hath cali'd to be th' awakener of a land, 
Should have his soul's affections all absorbed 
In that majestic purpose, and press on 
To its fulfilment, as a mountain-born 
And mighty stream, with all its vassal-rills, 
Sweeps proudly to the ocean, pausing not 
To dally with the flowers." 

In respect to physical ability, Otis was happily en- 
dowed. One who knew him well has recorded, that 
" he was finely formed, and had an intelligent counte- 
nance : his eye, voice, and manner were very impres- 
sive. The elevation of his mind, and the known 
integrity of his purposes, enabled him to speak with 
decision and dignity, and commanded the respect as 
well as the admiration of his audience. His eloquence 
showed but little imagination, yet it was instinct with the 
fire of passion." It may be not unjustly said of Otis, as 
of Judge Marshall, that " He was one of those rare 
beings that seem to be sent among men from time to 
time, to keep alive our faith in humanity.'' He had a 
wonderful power over the popular feelings, but he em- 
ployed it only for great public benefits. He seems to 
have said to himself, in the language of the great master 
of the maxims of life and conduct : 



JAMES OTIS. 91 

" This above all, — to thine own self be true, • 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man." 

Otis was just the person to kindle a conflagration ; 
to set a continent on fire by the power of speech. 
When heard on exciting local topics, deep feeling, 
kindred to the sentiments of the orator, opened each 
heart and soul to the stream of his burninsj thoughts. 
Assembled multitudes love that which dazzles them, 
which moves, strikes, and enchains them. In the 
best orations of the ancients, we find not a multi- 
plicity of ideas, but those which are the most pertinent, 
and the strongest possible ; by the first blows struck 
ignition is produced, and the flame is kept blazing with 
increased brilliancy and power, until guilt stands re- 
vealed in terror, and tyranny flies aghast. It is indeed 
true, as an American poet has said, 

" Few 
The spirits who originate and bend 
All meaner hearts to wonder and obey, 
As if their look were death, their word were fate;" 

but Otis was certainly one of this rare class. 

His eloquence, like that of his distinguished successors, 
was marked by a striking individuality. It did not 
partake largely of the placid firmness of Samuel Adams ; 
or of the intense brilliancy and exquisite taste of the 
younger Quincy ; or the subdued and elaborate beauty 
of Lee ; or the philosophical depth of John Adams ; or 
the rugged and overwhelming energy of Patrick Henry ; 
though he most of all Americans, resembled the latter. 



92 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Compared with English orators, our great country- 
man was not unlike Sheridan in natural endowment. 
Like him, he was unequalled in impassioned appeals 
to the general heart of mankind. He swayed all by 
his electric fire; charmed the timid, and inspired 
the weak; subdued the haughty, and enthralled the 
prejudiced. He traversed the field of argument and 
invective as a Scythian warrior scours the plain, shoot- 
ing most deadly arrows when at the greatest speed. 
He rushed into forensic battle, fearless of all conse- 
quences ; and as the ancient war-chariot would sonje- 
times set its axle on fire by the rapidity of its own 
movement, so would the ardent soul of Otis become 
ignited and fulminate with thought, as he swept 
irresistibly to the goal. When aroused by some great 
crisis, his eloquent words were like bolts of granite 
heated in a volcano, and shot forth with unerring aim, 
cras-hing where they fell. 

No patriot was ever more heartily devoted to the 
welfare of his country, nor more practical in his public 
toils, than was James Otis. Taking into consideration 
the times in which he appeared, and the sublime results 
that have flowed from the influence he exerted, the 
following language of President Adams seems appro- 
priate and just. " I have been young, and now am old, 
and I solemnly say, I have never known a man whose 
love of his country was more ardent or sincere ; never 
one who suflfered so much ; never one, whose services 
for any ten years of his life, were so important and 
essential to the cause of his country, as those of Mr. 
Otis, from 1760 to 1770." 



JAMES OTIS. 93 

Mr. Otis suffered much in the latter part of his Hfe 
from the gloomy effects produced by Robinson's brutal 
assault. He lived retired in the country in the most 
simple and quiet manner. In the lucid intervals of his 
mind he conducted some legal business, and habitually 
devoted himself to literary and religious cultivation. 
In 1782, his grandson, the distinguished living repre- 
sentative of the family, Harrison Gray Otis, brought 
the venerable patriot from Andover on a visit to Boston. 
Thei'e he received great attention from his old friends, 
and especially from Governor Hancock. What a scene 
must this have been to the great pioneer of the Revo- 
lution ! What exciting, but hallowed recollections 
must have rushed on his mind, as in the midst of a free 
and mighty people, and encompassed by his old com- 
rades whose youth he had inspired and whose action 
he had guided, he sat down, the patriarch of freedom 
at the festive board of honor and wealth ! But the 
exhilaration was too much for his shattered nerves and 
agitated mind. He was immediately advised by his 
brother and grandson to return to the quiet of rural 
life again, which he did with the gentleness of a 
child. 

Six weeks after his return to Andover, his end 
came in a manner as remarkable as had been his 
career. When first emerging from insanity, he had 
said to his sister, Mrs. Warren, "my dear sister, I hope 
when God Almighty, in his righteous providence, shall 
take me out of time into eternity, that it will be by a 
flash of lightning ;" and this desire he often repeated. 
On the 23d of May, 1783, a heavy cloud suddenly 



94 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

arose. Otis, calm and sound in mind, stood leaning on 
his cane in the front door of the house where he resided. 
A single flash glared on the family assembled near, and 
Mr. Otis fell instantaneously dead in the arms of Mr. 
Osgood, who sprang forward as he saw him sink. The 
body was brought to Boston, and his funeral was 
attended by one of the most numerous processions ever 
seen in New England. 

Peace had just been concluded. The great battle of 
the Revolution had been fought and won, when the 
great mind which had incurred the most fearful affliction 
in the early strife, permitted at length to gaze in placid 
joy on the glorious result, was then by a bright bolt 
snatched to Heaven without a pang. 

A cotemporary poet wrote a commemorative ode, 
which closed as follows : 

" Yes ! when the glorious work which he begun, 
ShalJ stand the most complete beneath the sun ; 
When peace shall come to crown the grand design, 
His eyes shall live to see the work divine — 
The heavens shall then his generous ' spirit claim, 
In storms as loud as his immortal fame ' — 
Hark, the deep thunders echo round the skies! 
On wings of flame the eternal errand flies. 
One chosen, charitable bolt is sped — 
And Otis mingles with the glorious dead." 



CHAPTER III 



SAMUEL ADAMS, 

LAST OF THK PURITANS. 

One of the brightest and most prominent traits in the 
early history of our country, is presented in the exalted 
moral worth of many of the leading patriots. It is a 
feature delightful to contemplate, and one that accounts 
for whatever is worthy and stable in our free institu- 
tions. If our principal men are not men of principle, it 
is vain to look ibr enduring excellence in the works they 
execute. Burke sagaciously remarked, "I never knew 
a man who was bad, fit for service that was good. 
There is always some disqualifying ingredient, mixing 
and spoiling the compound. The man seems paralytic 
on that side, his muscles there have lost their very tone 
and character — they cannot move. In short, the ac- 
complishment of any thing good is a physical impossi- 
bility for such a man. There is decrepitude as well as 
distortion — he could not, if he would, is not more cer- 
tain than he would not, if he could." 

The late George Canning, himself a happy example of 
the association of private morality and political emi- 
nence, in an early literary work, enforced the necessity 



96 OR/wroRS OF the American revolution. 

of personal purity, as illustrative of public character, 
with a vigor of thought and elegance of diction peculiar 
to himself He first quotes the following remark from 
an illustrious master of ancient eloquence : "It is impos- 
sible that the unnatural father, the hater of his own 
blood, should be an able and faithful leader of his coun- 
try ; that the mind which is insensible to the intimate and 
touching influence of domestic aflection, should be alive 
to the remoter influence of patriotic feeling ; that pri- 
vate depravity should consist with public virtue." " The 
sentiment is here expressed," says Canning, "withal! the 
vehemence of a political chief, conscious of the amiable- 
ness of his own domestic life, and inveighing against a 
rival too strong in most points to be spared when he 
was found weak. It has, however, a foundation of truth, 
and may suggest the advantages resulting from the 
blended species of biography of which we have spoken. 
Even in the anomalous cases where no correspondence, 
or no close correspondence, can be traced between the 
more retired and the more conspicuous features of a 
character, a comparative exhibition of the two has its 
use, and will furnish the philosopher with many interest- 
ins themes of reflection. The chief use, however, of 
such an exhibition resides in the rule and not in the ex- 
ceptions, and belongs not to the speculative fe\y, but to 
the active many. By associating, in the view of man- 
kind, whatever is amiable, and, as it were, feminine in 
the human character, with whatever in it is commanding 
and Herculean, it takes advantage of our veneration for 
the latter to betray us into a respect for the former. It 
gives dignity to the humbler virtues and domestic chari- 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 97 

ties in the eyes both of pubUc and private men, both of 
those who aspire to become great, and of those who are 
content to remain Uttle ; and thus secures the vital inte- 
rests of society." 

A happy instance and illustration of the above doc- 
trine is before the world in the life and character of 

Samuel Adams. He was born in Boston, on the 27th 
of September, 1722. The family from which he de- 
scended was one that early emigrated to New England, 
and commenced the settlement of the Colony. His 
father was a man of considerable wealth, of irreproach- 
able character, a magistrate of Boston, and a member of 
the House of Assembly for many years, under the Colo- 
nial government. Having resolved to give his son a 
liberal education, Samuel Adams was placed under the 
instruction of Mr. Lovell, a celebrated teacher of the 
grammar school in Boston. Under his supervision 
young Adams was fitted for admission to Harvard Uni- 
versity, at an early age. He graduated with honor in 
1740, when only eighteen years old, and took his Mas- 
ter's degree at twenty. 

When Samuel Adams graduated, John Adams was 
five years old, and Josiah Quincy and Joseph Warren 
yet unborn. James Otis was three years after Samuel 
Adams, in the list of graduates, and Quincy twenty-three 
years after him. John Adams completed his college 
course in 1755, which was fifteen years after the gradu- 
ation of Samuel. Samuel Adams was distinguished at 
the university for a serious and secluded cast of mind. 
He at first designed to devote himself to the Gospel 
ministry, but read comprehensively, especially in 
5 



98 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

history. The severe writers of Greek and Roman an- 
nals were his favorite autiiors ; but Divinity was the 
profession he resolved to live and die by. 

The year that Samuel Adams entered Harvard, was 
the same in which the Earl of Chatham entered Parlia- 
ment, so that he must have seen the whole of that great 
statesman's splendid career. Ikit the greatness he saw 
from afar and emulated, neither crippled the expansion 
of his own free faculties nor created fear in his breast. 
He was early distinguished for great assiduity in study, 
and promptness in the performance of collegiate duties. 
He was equally remarkable for the uprightness of his 
demeanor and the frugality of his habits. From the 
stipend allowed him by his father, he saved a sum suffi- 
cient to publish an original pamphlet, entitled " English- 
men's Rights." When he took his second degree, the 
thesis he discussed was, "Whether it be lawful to resist 
the Supreme Magistrate, if the Com?nonivealth cannot 
he otherwise preserved?" This he affirmed and main- 
tained with great force, in the presence of the king's 
Governor and his Council, in the reign of George the 
Second, while Sir Robert Walpole was Prime Minister, 
and these Colonies were not only at peace but exceedingly 
loyal to England. But in that young bosom lay the ele- 
ments of glorious rebellion, and in the question he dis- 
cussed in 1740, lay the whole history of the war of In- 
dependence, which dates from 1776. 

Samuel Adams must be regarded as the great leader 
of our Revolution. As such he was regarded beyond 
the Atlantic, where his real character seems to have 
been better understood than at home. Mr. Adolphuj;, 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 99 

in the second volume of the history of England, speaks 
of him thus : "Samuel Adams, a distinguished leader of 
the American councils, noted for subtlety, perseverance 
and inflexibility, boasted in all companies, that he had 
toiled twenty years to accomplish the measure of Inde- 
pendence. During that time he had carried his art and 
industry so far, as to search after every rising genius in 
the New England seminaries, employed his utmost abili- 
ties to fix in their minds the principles of American In- 
dependency, and now triumphed in his success." A 
learned commentator on this authority, who thoroughly 
understood the character of Samuel Adams, asserted 
that he was "no boaster, but a polite gentleman of mo- 
dest carriage." 

The Rev. Dr. William Gordon, another Englishman, 
who resided a number of years near Boston, as a parish 
minister, says in his fourth Letter on the history of those 
times, "that Samuel Adams became a member of the 
legislature in September, 1765; that he was zealously 
attached to the rights of Massachusetts in particular, 
and the colonies in general, and but little to his own 
personal interest; that he was well qualified to second 
Mr. Otis, and learned in time to serve his own political 
views by the influence of the other ; that he was soon 
noticed by the House, chosen and continued their clerk 
from year to year, by which means he had the custody 
of their papers ; and of these he knew how to make an 
advantage for political purposes. He was frequently 
upon important committees, and acquired great ascen- 
dency by discovering a readiness to acquiesce in the 
proposals and amendments of others, while the end 



100 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

aimed at by them did not eventually frustrate his lead- 
ing designs. He showed a pliableness and complaisance 
in these smaller matters wjiich enabled him, in the issue, 
to carry those of much greater consequence ; and there 
were," says the historian,-" many favorite points, which 
the ' sons of liberty' in Massachusetts meant to carry, 
even though the Sta?np-Act should be rej^ealed." 

Thomas, Jefferson, in a letter to the grandson of Sa- 
muel Adams, said : " lie was truly a great man, wise in 
council, fertile in resources, immovable in his purposes ; 
and had, I think, a greater share than any other member 
of Congress, in advising and directing our measures in 
the northern war. As a speaker he could not be com- 
pared with his living colleague and namesake, whose 
deep conceptions, nervous style and undaunted firmness, 
made him truly our bulwark in debate. But Samuel 
Adams, although not of fluent elocution, was so rigor- 
ously logical, so clear in views, abundant in sense, and 
master always of his subject, that he commanded the 
most profound attention whenever he rose in an assem- 
bly, where the froth of declamation was heard with the 
most sovereign contempt." 

Again, in a letter written by the same renowned pa- 
triot to Dr. Waterhouse, he says : 

" Dear Sir — Your letter of the 15lh was received on 
the 27th, and I am glad to find the name and character 
of Samuel Adams coming forward, and in so good hands 
as I suppose them to be. I was the youngest man but 
one in the old Congress, and he the oldest but one, as I 
believe. His only senior, I suppose, was Stephen Hop- 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 101 

kins, of and by whom the honorable mention made in 
your letter was richly merited. 

" Although my high reverence ^or Samuel Adams was 
returned by habitual notices from him, which highly flat- 
tered me, yet the disparity of age prevented intimate 
and confidential communications. I always considered 
him, more than any other member, the fountain of our 
important measures ; and although he was neither 
an eloquent nor easy speaker, whatever he said was 
sound, and commanded the profound attention of the 
House. 

" In the discussions on the floor of Congress, he re- 
posed himself on our main pillar in debate, Mr. John 
Adams. These two gentlemen were verily a host in our 
councils. Comparisons with their associates, northern 
or southern, would answer no profitable purpose; but 
they would suffer by comparison with none." 

It will be unnecessary to cite further cotemporary 
authorities, touching the general outlines of Samuel 
Adams' character. The idea of the Independence of 
the Colonies was doubtless more or less cherished from 
the beginning, but he w^as the first man who embodied, 
and, with extraordinary tact and effect, diffused that 
doctrine from North to South, until it became in '76 the 
vital principle of our constitution. Many years before 
ordinary minds dared to hope for such a consummation, 
Gordon wrote in his history, that " Mr. Samuel Adams 
long since said, in small, confidential companies, ' This 
country shall he independent, and we will he satisfied with 
nothing short of it.' " 

In turning now to a more specific analysis of the 



102 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

mental structure of this great patriot, with an effort to 
estimate the value of his public services, it is proposed 
to consider the influence of his pen, his tongue and his 
example. 

First, let us glance at what he achieved with his pen. 
We have seen that he accustomed himself to political 
wHting while at college. He was favorably known as 
a polemic, during the administration of Governor Shir- 
ley, whom he opposed on the ground of his exercise both 
of the civil and military power. When the intelligence 
reached Boston, in 1763, of a design to tax the Colo- 
nies, and place the revenue at the disposal of Parliament, 
Adams promptly opposed the measure. At that period, 
when the town met to choose their representatives to 
the General Assembly, it was the custom to instruct 
them respecting their legislative duties. Soon after the 
ominous news arrived, the people elected Mr. Adams to 
draw up appropriate instructions. The document is yet 
extant in his own hand-writing; and in that manuscript 
is found the first public denial of the right of the British 
Parliament to tax the Colonies without their consent — 
the first denial of parliamentary supremacy — and the 
first public suggestion of an union on the part of the 
Colonies, to protect themselves against British aggres- 
sion. 

Samuel Adams possessed a calm, solid, and yet po- 
lished mind. There is a wonderful lucidness in his 
thought and phraseology ; every thing about his compo- 
sition is plain, forcible, and level to the simplest compre- 
hension. Above all the men of his day, he was distin- 
guished for sound practical judgment. All prominent 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 103 

statesmen looked to him for counsel. He aided Otis in 
preparing state papers ; and a direction to the printers, 
attached to some of Josiah Quincy's manuscripts, reads 
— " Let Samuel Adams, Esq., correct the press." In 
fact there were few, if any, important documents pub- 
lished between 1764 and 1769, in Boston, that were not 
revised by the cool and solid judgment of the A^ew Eng- 
land Phocion. 

The idea of assembling the first Congress not only 
originated with him, but he early became a conspicuons 
delegate in that body. He was placed upon every im- 
portant committee, wrote or revised every report, and 
had a hand in every measure designed to counteract 
foreign tyranny. The people of America soon recog- 
nized in him one of their most efficient supporters, and 
the government in England openly proclaimed him one 
of the most inveterate of their opponents. 

Samuel Adams possessed various instrumentalities for 
promoting political and moral designs, and not the least 
among them was his versatile and potent pen. He is 
said to have wielded that almost omnipotent engine, a 
free press, with the irresistible arm of a giant. Clear 
and cogent paragraphs, scattered about in new^spapers, 
stung the popular mind to the quick ; while more elabo- 
rate essays, like those of Junius, convinced and im- 
pelled leading men, and prompted all classes to execute 
the purposes at which the great patriot aimed. 

In the second place, his living eloquence w^as a pow- 
erful auxiliary to the popular cause. But of this orator, 
as of James Otis, there are but few wi'itten remains. 
The patriots of those times acted, wrote and spake, as 



104 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

though they felt deeply that they were born for their 
country and for mankind. They were evidently more 
intent in laying the foundation of great institutions for 
the benefit of posterity, than in recording transient me- 
morials of themselves. 

Several traits in the eloquence of Samuel Adams are 
worthy of particular notice ; among these were his sa- 
gacity, his knowledge of man, his fearlessness of kings, 
and his devotion to republican liberty. 

He commenced his public life as a legislator in 1765, 
in the General Assembl}'^, as a representative from Bos- 
ton. He very soon became distinguished in that body 
for his wisdom, foresight, and ardent support of popular 
rights. His commanding influence and stern defiance 
of foreign aggression, soon attracted the notice of the 
agents of Parliament. Overtures were made to him by 
Governor Hutchinson, but they were indignantly re- 
jected ; and Hutchinson, referring to his discomfiture in 
a letter to a friend, said : " Such is the obstinacy and 
inflexible disposition of the man, that he can never be 
conciliated by any office or gift whatever." No lan- 
guage could express a higher tribute to the integrity and 
patriotism of Mr. Adams. 

During the angry contention which lasted for several 
years between the citizens and the military force quar- 
tered in Boston, and which came to the melancholy 
issue in the massacre of March 5th, 1770, Samuel 
Adams, aided by John Adams, Hancock and others, 
bore a prominent part, in efforts to effect their removal 
from the town. On the morning after the outrage was 
committed, a public meeting was held, and Samuel 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 105 

Adams was placed at the head of a committee to wait 
on the acting governoi', Hutchinson, and. demand the 
removal of the troops. Hutchinson at first evaded the 
immediate request, by offering some frivolous plea; but, 
being told by Mr. Adams that the people still remained 
in session, determined on redress, and that the conse- 
quences of his refusal must rest upon his own head, 
he at last promised compliance with their demands. 

Not long after another occasion occurred when the 
sagacious firmness of this great moral hero was called 
into profitable requisition. Governor Hutchinson, hav- 
ing refused to receive his salary from the province, and 
being paid by the crown, was made independent of the 
people, who saw at once in this move a dangerous in- 
novation. They remonstrated with the Governor, but 
their memorials were treated with indifference and 
contempt. On November 2d, 1772, on the motion of 
Samuel Adams, a large committee of citizens were ap- 
pointed " to state the rights of the Colonists, and of this 
province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as 
subjects ; to communicate and publish the same to the 
several towns in this province and to the world, as the 
sense of this town, with the infringements and violations 
thereof, that have been, or from time to time may be 
made ; also requesting of each town a free communica- 
tion of their sentiments on this subject." This was the 
original committee of correspondence, out of which grew 
the subsequent union of the Colonies, and the Congress 
of the United States. 

Governor Gage arrived in Boston in May, 1774, and 
presuming upon the truth of a maxim which originated 



106 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

among British politicians, and is generally believed there, 
that " every man has his price," offered a heavy " con- 
sideration" through Colonel Fenton, his agent, to Samuel 
Adams. But those minions of regal power and rotten 
aristocracy were destined to learn, that there is such a 
thing as patriotism, which thrones cannot awe nor 
bribes corrupt. If the sturdy patriot was found to be 
proof against venality and corruption, then the agent of 
tyrannical arrogance was directed to threaten him with 
an arrest for treason. Mr. Adams, glowing with indig- 
nation at such attacks upon his honor and patriotism, 
first demanded of the messenger, Fenton, a solemn pledge 
that he would return to Gage his reply just as it was 
given, and then rising in a firm manner, said, "/ tnist 
that I have long since made my peace with the King of 
kings. No personal consideration shall induce me to 
abandon the righteous cause of my country. Tell 
Governor Gage, it is the advice of Samuel Adams to 
him, no longer to insult the feelings of an exasperated 
people." 

The Governor having vetoed no less than thirteen 
Councilors, chosen by the people in May, 1774, and ad- 
journed the General Court to Salem, the Assembly at 
length advised a Congress of the Colonies at Philadel- 
phia, in September. Samuel Adams was one of the five 
delegates sent from Massachusetts. In the Continental 
Congress, as everywhere else, he was indefatigable and 
earnest in his labors to promote the cause of freedom. 
John Adams, in a magnanimous allusion to Thomas 
Jefferson, speaks of his namesake and co-patriot in a 
way illustrative of our present topic. Jeflerson, said he, 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 107 

** though a silent member, he was so prompt, frank, ex- 
plicit, and decisive upon committees — not even Samuel 
Adams was more so — that he soon seized my heaii." 
Indeed, all cotemporary proof goes to show that in the 
committees of Congress, and in the associations of the 
"Sons of Liberty," at Boston, he was the soul of their 
movements. 

Another peculiarity of Samuel Adams was, his pro- 
found and accurate acquaintance with the nature of 
man. He had studied its secret springs, and could 
move them at pleasure. He knew that the human 
heart is like the earth. " You may sow it, and plant it, 
and build upon it in all manner of forms; but the earth, 
however cultivated by man, continues none the less 
spontaneously to produce its verdures, its wild flowers, 
and all varieties of natural fruits." The spade and the 
plough trouble not the profounder depths where innu- 
merable germs are hid. The identity of this planet on 
which we live is not more perpetual than that of human 
nature. Its latent impulses we must know. Its sponta- 
neous productions we must learn to employ, if we would 
toil among mankind with success. 

One or two instances will suffice to illustrate Mr. 
Adams' skill in dealing with mankind. A great "town- 
meeting" was held in Faneuil Hall, to form an associa- 
tion against the importation of goods into Boston from 
Britain, until certain grievances were redressed. That 
the leaders in this business contemplated a limited time 
is evident from the fact that at a subsequent period, both 
Samuel and John Adams opposed, in Congress, the non- 
importation scheme, lest the country should be exhaust- 



108 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ed of certain necessary articles when they came to fight. 
The object proposed to the aforesaid popular meeting in 
Faneuil Hall was received by general acclamation. But 
a Mr. Mc , a Scotchman and large importer, refus- 
ed to join the association. The Scotch were uncom- 
monly loyal to George the Third, and are usually not 
very slow to look after their own interests. Some were 
wroth that this citizen refused to sign the non-importation 
agreement; but angry words were by no means en- 
couraged by Mr. Adams, for the suaviter in modo was a 
prominent trait in his energetic character. The com- 
mittee from the meeting who had been directed to call 
on the stubborn Scotchman, and who had been repelled 
by him, were directed to call on the recusant again ; 
they returned with the same answer ; when Mr. Adams 
arose and moved, that the meeting (about two thousand 
persons) should resolve itself into a committee of the 

ivhole house, and wait upon Mr. Mc , at the close of 

the meeting, to urge his compliance with the general 
wish ; which being agreed to without a dissenting voice, 
they proceeded to transact the business before them. 
The sagacious patriot knew that the individual in ques- 
tion had personal friends in the meeting, some of whom 
immediately slipped away to inform him, that the ivhoIe 
hody would, as a committee, wait upon him at tiie close 
of the meeting. The result was, as Mr. Adams antici- 
pated. In the midst of their deliberations on other 
subjects, in rushed Mr. Mc , all in a foam, and bow- 
ing to the chairman and to INIr. Adams, told them that 
he was ready and willing to put his name to the non- 
importation pledge. Mr. Adams pointed to a seat near 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 109 

hiin, with a polite, condescending bow of protection in 
the presence of the people, which quieted the alarm of 
the discreet Scotchman, who was struck with dread at 
the idea of two thousand people presenting themselves 
before his dwelling, and hastened to avert such threat- 
ening honors. 

Another sagacious movement on the part of Samuel 
Adams, and one of the most profitable deeds of his 
patriotic life, was his enlisting the very rich and accom- 
plished John Hancock in the popular cause. The means 
of accomplishing this have never transpired, but as to 
the author of the achievement there is no doubt. The 
cause of freedom throughout the world is greatly indebt- 
ed to both men. One gave to it his great mind, and the 
other his splendid fortune ; one obtained cotemporary 
fame, the other, like all heroes of the highest order, re- 
posed on posterity. But it is easy to suppose that the 
watchful and diligent votary of liberty felt no little com- 
placency in winning so potent an auxiliary to the cause 
he most dearly loved. One day John and Samuel 
Adams were walking in the Boston Mall, and when 
they came opposite the stately mansion of Mr. Hancock, 
the latter turning to the former, said, with emphasis, "I 
have done a very goodihmg for our cause in the course 
of the past week, by enlisting the master of that house in 
it. lie is well disposed and has great riches, and we 
can give him consequence to enjoy them." And Mr. 
Hancock did not disappoint his expectations ; for when 
they gave him the " conseciuence," so genial to his nature, 
by making him President of Congress, he put everything 
at' stake, in opposition to British encroachments. 



110 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

In the third place, Samuel Adams was fearless of all 
combinations of human power. Pure and exalted pa- 
triotism was the boldest feature in his character. The 
freedom and prosperity of his country ; the union of all 
her sons in a common and national fraternity; and the 
advancement of moral truth, harmony, and virtue, were 
the grand objects of his unremitted pursuit. It may be 
said of him, as Justice Story said of Bushrod Washing- 
ton, "Few men have possessed higher qualifications, 
either natural or acquired. His mind was solid, rather 
than brilliant; sagacious and searching, rather than 
quick or eager ; slow, but not torpid ; steady, but not 
unyielding ; comprehensive, and at the same time cau- 
tious ; patient in inquiry, forcible in conception, clear in 
reasoning. He was, by original temperament, mild, 
conciliating, and candid ; and yet he was remarkable for 
an uncompromising firmness. Of him it may be truly- 
said, that the fear of man never fell upon him ; it never 
entered into his thoughts, much less was it seen in his 
actions. In him the love of justice was the ruling pas- 
sion ; it was the main-spring of all his conduct. He 
made it a matter of conscience to discharge every duty 
with scrupulous fidelity and scrupulous zeal." 

The propriety of applying the above remarks to 
Samuel Adams will be confirmed by adducing the fol- 
lowing emergency and the sentiments it occasioned. 
When Mr. Galloway and a few of his timid adherents 
were for entering their protest in Congress against an 
open rupture with Britain, Samuel Adams, rising slowly 
from his seat, said, " I should advise persisting in our 
struggle for liberty, though it were revealed from Hea- 



SAMUEL ADAMS. HI 

ven that nine hundred and ninety-nine were to perish, 
and only one freeman of a thousand survive and retain 
his liberty. That one freeman must possess more virtue 
and enjoy more happiness, than a thousand slaves : let 
him propagate his like, and transmit to them what he 
had so nobly preserved." 

This quotation leads us to consider yet more definite- 
ly Mr. Adams' love of liberty, and the peculiarity of his 
eloquence. 

When, on the morning of April 19th, 1775, the vol- 
leys of fire-arms from the British troops at Lexington, 
announced to him and his companions, that the great 
battle for freedom had begun, he threw up his arms, and 
exclaimed, in a voice of patriotic rapture, " Oh ! what a 
glorious mornmg is this '" 

Five days before the battie of Bunker Hill, Governor 
Gage proclaimed pardon to all who should lay down 
their arms, excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock. 
Being thus signalized by superior hate only increased 
their popularity with the people, in the support of whose 
dearest interests they had put every thing at stake and 
incurred royal vengeance. 

The exasperation of Gage against Samuel Adams in 
particular, had been augmented by the bold and effective 
measures taken by the latter in the assembly at Salem. 
It was by him and there that a Continental Congress 
at Philadelphia was proposed, at a time when the popu- 
lar mind was not maturely decided as to the exped- 
iency of the measure, and contrary to the hopes of 
British emissaries a majority was obtained to act with 
him. Moreover, in secret session, the five dele- 



112 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

gates to that Congress were elected, notwithstanding the 
governor issued his official injunction against the pro- 
ceedings. In this movement of the liberty party, the 
authority of the governor was set at defiance, and the 
doors were bolted against his entrance. His secretary, 
armed with a commission to dissolve the assembly, was 
obliged to sustain his dignity on the steps outside, while the 
key of the hall door reposed in Samuel Adams' pocket. 

Mr. Adams took his seat in the first Continental Con- 
gress on the 5th of September, 1774, and continued an 
active and effective member of that great national as- 
sembly until 1781, exemplifying wisdom seldom equalled, 
and an enthusiasm for freedom never excelled. On the 
8th of May, 1776, while Congress was in session at 
Philadelphia, the sound of heavy artillery was heard 
down the Delaware. It was known to proceed from 
gun-boats that had been sent to protect the river from 
British cruisers. Hitherto no sound of actual war had 
reached that section of country, whose inhabitants were 
conscientiously more pacific in their tone than suited 
the ardor and exasperation of New England. As the 
sound of the first gun burst upon the ear of Congress, 
Samuel Adams sprang upon his feet, and cried out with 
exultation, to the infinite astonishment of a few timid 
members, "Thank God! the game's begun — none can 
stop it now." In that hall he put his name to the De- 
claration of Independence, and he never ceased his 
efforts till the victory was won. 

As an orator Samuel Adams was peculiarly fitted 
for the times on which he had fallen. His eloquence 
was characteristic of its author, full of massive simpli- 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 113 

city and pungent common sense. His ideas were 
plain, pertinent, and forcible; comprehended by all with 
ease, and long remembered for their pith and point. 
He moved much among the masses of mankind, and 
knew how to sway their thoughts. This apostle of 
liberty, like the heralds of salvation, began first to 
preach to the common people, and ultimately attained 
an influence that made despots tremble on their thrones. 

One great secret of the power of his popular address, 
probably, lay in the unity of his purpose and the energy 
of his pursuit. He passionately loved freedom, and 
subordinated every thing to its attainment. This kind 
of inspiration is a necessary pre-requisite to eminent 
success. 

Samuel Adams had more logic in his composition 
than rhetoric, and was accustomed to convince the 
judgment rather than inflame the passions; and, yet, 
when the occasion demanded, he could give vent to the 
ardent and patriotic indignation of which his heart was 
often full. 

His education was substantial and thorough ; his 
reading and observation comprehensive and exact. 
The principal decorative element in his mental culture 
was music, of which he was a proficient and devoted 
admirer. Like Milton, whom he resembled in many 
points, stern and rugged in general character, he could 
"feel music's pulse in all his arteries," and was accus- 
tomed to turn away from exhausting struggles for 
human weal and seek solace in the luxury of sweet 
sounds. In him there was a happy blending of strength 
and beauty of the highest kind. He was not eloquent 



114 OKATOKS OF THE AMERK'AN REVOLUTION. 

in the ordinary sense of the term, as his speech had 
more of substance than show. His deductions were 
clear, co<2;cn1, and to (he purpose : his huiguao-e was chaste, 
luminous, and pointed ; iiis lluency seldom impeded, 
and his action always impressive; so that, in their 
energetic union, his jireat mental and moral qualities 
possessed a charm which never tailed to win ujion the 
confidence and captivate the judgment of his audience. 
lie iiad little of those coruscations of fancy, transient 
gleams such as " live in the rainbow and play in the 
plighted clouds ;" but was richly endowed with those 
more exalted cpialities which enabled him to speak in 
" tiie large utterance of the early gods." He always 
steered in the dignified medium hrtween tameness and 
ferocity. There was a mingling of heroical and Christian 
graces in him, which showed, that the ambition of his 
soul, and the synnnotry of his thoughts, were fashioned 
after the sublimest models, and for a better world. 

One who knew him intimately has described him as 
being one of the most ardent of the patriots, before and 
during the I\i>volntion ; a popular writer and energetic 
sjieaker. '"He was of common size, of muscular form, 
light' blue eyes, light complexion, and erect in person, 
He wore a tie wig, cocked hat, and red cloak. His 
manner was very serious." His enunciation is said to 
have been remarkably slow, distinct, and harmonious. 
Whenever lie arose to address a popular assembly, 
every nun-mur was hushed at the hrst tlash of that 
"sparkling eye beneath a veteran brow." Expectation 
was on tiptoe for something weighty from his lips, and 
was seldom disappointed. "Eloquence," said Boling- 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 115 

broke, " must flow like a stream that is fed by an 
abundant spring, and not spout forth a Httle frothy 
water on some gaudy day, and remain dry the rest of 
the year." 

The encomium which Ben Jonson pronounced on 
Lord Bacon's speaking may be justly applied to Samuel 
Adams. " There happened in my time one noble 
speaker who was full of gravity in his speech. Ilis 
language was nobly censorious. No man ever spoke 
more neatly, more pressly, more weightily, or suflcred 
less emptiness, less idleness in what he uttered. No 
member of his si)cech but consisted of his own graces. 
His heanjrs could not cough or look aside from him 
without loss. . He commanded where he spoke, and 
had his judges angry and pleased at his devotion. No 
man had their aflcctions more in his power. The fear 
of every man tiiat heard iiim was lest he should make 
an end." 

The patriotism of Samuel Adams was undoubted, 
and his personal worth was of the most exalted charac- 
ter. The influence he exerted on the destinies of the 
country was probably more potent and salutary than 
that of any other man. He might not cope with some 
others in the abihty to convulse or console an audience 
in tuujulluous debate, but he could i)rivately lead the 
leaders. Plain, (juiet, indigent, sagacious, })atriotic old 
Puritan, as he was, now melting his stern soul into 
unwonted tears of joy, and pacing the "Common" with 
exulting step, because that morning he iiad "won that 
chivalrous young aristocrat, John Hancock," to the 
defence of the popular cause ; and now glancing, with 



116 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

a sly twinkle in his eye, at fiery resolutions pendant 
from the " Tree of Liberty," purporting to have been 
produced nocturnally by the serene goddess herself, but 
which, he well knows, first saw the ligiit by his solitary 
lamp ; and, anon, ensconced behind the "deacon's seat" 
in " Old South," with an immense throng crowding the 
double galleries to the very ceiling, he stealthily passes 
up a ])ungent resolution, which kindles some more 
excitable mouth-piece, and, finally, infiames the heaving 
and swelling mass with spontaneous cries of " Boston 
harbor a tea-pot to night!" — why, he was, indeed, a 
power behind the throne greater than the throne, he 
ruled the winds that moved the waves. 

Our third general point relates to the service which 
Samuel Adams rendered to his country and the world 
by the forae of his example. A few words on this 
topic. 

The character of a man, viewed at large, is the 
aggregate of his passions, and his passions are developed 
and toned by the circumstances of his situation. The 
most striking personages in history are produced by a 
great variety of little incidents ; as from an infinity of 
minute threads of hemp the mightiest cables are formed. 

We have seen that Mr. Adams early became interested 
in the welfare of his country; to promote her weal he 
devoted all the wealth he inherited and all the talents 
he possessed. From a humble position in life, he rose 
through successive gradations of rank until, in 1795, 
he became governor of his native commonwealth. 
The respect paid him at home and abroad was such 



SAMUEL ADAMS. 117 

as his extraordinary merits were calculated to com- 
mand. 

George Clymer, of Philadelphia, writing from Eng- 
land to Josiah Quincy, Jr., directed his friend as 
follows : 

"I beg you will make my particular compliments to 
Mr. Hancock and Mr. S. Adams. There are no men 
more worthy of general esteem ; the latter I cannot 
sufficiently respect for his integrity and abilities. All 
good Americans should erect a statue to him in their 
hearts." 

Josiah Quincy, in turn, writing to his wife from 
London, in a letter dated Dec. 7, 1774, remarks: 

" Tiic character of Mr. Samuel Adams stands very 
high here. I find many who consider him the first 
politician in the world. I have found more reason 
every day to convince me that he has been right when 
others supposed him wrong." 

General Joseph Read, of Pennsylvania, on being 
offered a heavy bribe by Governor Johnson in 1778 
returned this pithy answer to the corrupt attempt on 
his roi)ublican loyalty. "I am not worth purchasing, 
but such as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich 
enough to do it." Such integrity was not uncommon, 
during our Revolution, but in Samuel Adams it was 
proverbial. He might have declared at any time, 
without fear of contradiction, with Cardinal de Retz, " In 
the most difficult times of the RepubHc, I never deserted 
the State ; in her most prosperous fortune, I never 
never tasted of her sweets ; in her most desperate 
circumstances, I knew not fear." During the most 



118 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

gloomy periods of our national struggle, when others 
were desponding, he always kept up cheerful spirits, 
gently rebuking the fears of others, and expressing his 
unwavering reliance upon the protection of an over- 
ruling Providence, who he had felt assured from the 
first, would conduct the country through all its trials to 
deliverance and prosperous repose. As a patriot, he 
toiled incessantly, without complaint; as a Christian, 
he trusted in God, and was not confounded. 

Grattan said of Fox, that " He stood against the cur- 
rent of the court ; he stood against the tide of the people ; 
he stood against both united ; he was the isthmus lashed 
by the waves of democracy, and by the torrent of des- 
potism, unaflected by either, and superior to both ; the 
Marpesian rock that struck its base to the centre, and 
raised its forehead to the skies." And such, too, was 
Samuel Adams. He was the most puritanic of all our 
statesmen. Others were endowed with the more splen- 
did gifts, and more flexile powers of popular harangue ; 
but he, above all his cotemporaries, glorified with his 
incorruptible poverty the Revolution which he was the 
first to excite and the last to abandon. 

In 1781, Mr. Adams retired from Congress, with the 
desire, in the near prospect of peace, to withdraw from 
all public labors. But he was repeatedly pressed into 
the service of his country. He was a member of the 
convention which formed the constitution of Massachu- 
setts, and of the committee which drafted it. He was 
successively a member of the Senate, president of that 
body, and member of the convention which adopted the 
Federal Constitution. In 1789, he was elected lieute- 



SAMUEL ADA3IS. 119 

nant-governor, in which office he continued until 1794, 
when he succeeded John Hancock as Governor of the 
State. To this office he was annually elected until 
1797, when his age and increasing infirmities com- 
pelled him to retire from public life altogether. He died 
on the 3d of October, 1803, in the eighty-second year 
of his age. At the 'close of his life, and from a much 
earlier period, he had a tremulous motion of the head, 
which probably added to the solemnity of his eloquence, 
as this was, in some measure, associated with the won- 
derful melody of his tones. 

Samuel Adams was the last of the Puritans — "a class 
of men," says Governor Everett, " to whom the cause of 
civil and religious liberty, on both sides of the Atlantic, 
is mainly indebted, for the great progress which it has 
made for the last two hundred years ; and when the 
Declaration of Independence was signed, that dispensa- 
tion might be considered as brought to a close. At a 
time when the new order of things was inducing laxity 
of manners and a departure from the ancient strictness, 
Samuel Adams clung with greater tenacity to the whole- 
some discipline of the fathers. His only relaxation 
from the business and cares of life was in the indul- 
gence of a taste for sacred music, for which he was qua- 
lified by the possession of a most angelic voice, and a 
soul solemnly impressed with religious sentiment. Re- 
sistance to oppression was his vocation." 

He was a Christian. At an early age he was imbued 
with the spirit of piety, and the purity of his life verified 
tho sincerity of his profession. The last production of 



120 ORATOllS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

his pen was in favor of Christian truth, and the light 
that cheered him in death emanated from the Cross. 

"He is a freeman whom the truth makes free, 
And all are slaves besides." 



CHAPTER IV. 
JOSIAII QUINCY, JR., 

ORATOR OF REFINED ENTHUSIASM. 

This distinguished patriot was born in Boston, Feb- 
ruary 23d, 1744. His temperament was ardent, and his 
sensibilities were extremely acute. He acquired tiie rudi- 
ments of a classical education at Braintree, and, in 1759, 
entered Harvard College, where he distinguished himself 
for upright conduct and ripe scholarship. He graduated 
in 17G3, and in due course took his second degree, with 
very high reputation. His theme on the occasion was 
"Patriotism," and is said to have been remarkable both 
on account of its composition and delivery. " His 
taste," says his biographer, "was refined by an intimate 
acquaintance with the ancient classics, and his soul ele- 
vated and touched by the spirit of freedom they breathe. 
His compositions during this period also prove, that he 
was extensively conversant with the best writers of the 
French and English schools. Above all, the genius of 
Shakspeare seems to have led captive his youthful im- 
agination. In his writings, quotations, or forms of ex- 
pression, modelled upon those of that author, perpetually 
occur. There still exists among his papers, a manu- 
script of the date of 1762, he then being in the junior 



123 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

class of the college, of seventy closely and minutely 
written quarto pages of extracts from that author. 

Mr. Quincy read law in the oflice of Oxenbridge 
Thatcher, the distinguished advocate who was associat- 
ed with James Otis against the Writs of Assistance. 
Mr. Thatcher died in 1765. Mr. Quincy had not then 
completed his preparatory studies, but remained the resi- 
due of his student's term, took a general oversight of the 
business of the oflice, and therein succeeded to a lucra- 
tive and extensive practice. lie early made himself 
conspicuous by the ardor with which he wrote and 
spoke against the encroachments of the mother country. 

The boldness with which Quincy entered upon the 
great contest is indicated by the following sentiments 
published by him in 1770, in the midst of great excite- 
ment, and only twenty days previous to the Boston 
massacre : 

"In answer to the question, 'What end is the non- 
importation agreement to answer?' I give the following 
reply : 

"From a conviction in my own mind, that America 
is now the slave of Britain ; from a sense that we are 
every day more and more in danger of an increase of 
our burdens, and a fastening of our shackles, I wish to 
see my countrymen break oft' — off for ever! — all social 
intercourse with those whose commerce contaminates, 
whose luxuries poison, whose avarice is insatiable, and 
M'hose unnatural oppressions are not to be borne. That 
Americans will know their rights, that they will resume, 
assert, and defend them, are matters of which I harbor 
no doubt. Whether the arts ofpolici/, or the arts of tvar 



JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 123 

will decide the contest, are problems, that we will solve 
at a more convenient season. He, whose heart is en- 
amored with the refinements of political artifice and 
finesse, will seek one mode of relief; he whose heart is 
free, honest, ami intrepid, will pursue another, a bolder, 
and a more noble mode of redress. This reply is so in- 
telligible, that it needs no comment or explanation." 

In August, 1774, at the urgent solicitation of his 
political friends, Mr. Quincy determined to relinquish 
business and embark for England on a secret mission in 
behalf of his country. In this enterprise it is believed 
that he accomplished much good. His efibrts were un- 
remitting, and his sohcitude were both profound and sin- 
cere. This is indicated by the following extract from a 
letter dated 

" London, December 14, 1774. 

"In the sight of God, and all just men, the cause is 
good ; we have the wishes of the wise and humane, we 
have the prayers of the pious, and the universal benison 
of all who seek to God for direction, aid, and blessing. 
I own I feel for the miseries of my country ; I own I 
feel much desire for the happiness of my brethren in 
trouble ; but why should I disguise, I feel inefiably, for 
the honor — the honor, I repeat it — the honor of my 
country. If in the trial, you prove, as your enemies say, 
arrant poltroons and cowards, how inefiably contempti- 
ble will you appear; how wantonly and superlatively 
will you be abused and insulted by your triumphing 
oppressors !" 

On the 16th of March, 1775, Mr. Quincy embarked 
for Boston. His health was bad, and grew much worse 



124 ORATORS OF TFIE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

during the early part of the voyage. After being five 
weeks at sea, and yet far from his beloved home, he be- 
came convinced that death was at hand, and prepared to 
submit himself to the will of heaven with heroic calm- 
ness and Christian resignation. He repeatedly said to 
his companions that he had but one desire, which was, 
that he might live long enough to have an interview 
with Samuel Adams, or Joseph Warren; that granted, 
he should die content. But this wish was not granted 
to his patriotic heart. 

As he drew near his native shore, the crisis he had so 
long expected transpired. The battle of Lexington was 
fought. According to his prediction, "his countrymen 
sealed their faith and constancy to their liberties with 
their blood." But he lived not to hear on earth the 
tidings of that glorious day. " On the 26th of April, 
1775, within sight of that beloved country which he was 
not permitted to reach; neither supported by the kind- 
ness of friendship, nor cheered by the voice of aflection, 
he expired ; not, indeed, as, a few weeks afterwards, did 
his friend and co-patriot, Warren, in battle, on a field 
ever memorable and ever glorious; but in solitude, 
amidst suflering, without associate, and without wit- 
ness ; yet breathing forth a dying wish for his country, 
desiring to live only to perform towards her a last and 
signal service."' 

A few hours after his death, the ship, with his lifeless 
remains, arrived at Gloucester, Cape Ann, where the 
bodv of this devoted patriot was interred with becoming 
respect. JMr. Quincy had no opportunity of communi- 
cating to his countrvmcn the result of his observations 



JOSIAH aUINCY, JR. 125 

abroad, which was eagerly expected. The regret on 
this account, was however, merged in the universal sor- 
I'ow lor the untimely loss ot" a virtuous and gifted advo- 
cate of freedom, who was cut off in his thirty-first year, 
in the very crisis of the country he so much loved. 

We will now proceed to notice more particularly Mr. 
Quincy's character as an orator. He was early distin- 
guished at the bar, and has rendered his name immortal 
as a patriot. The cultivation of elegant literature sup- 
plied his pastime, but love of country was the strong 
passion of his soul and the habitual inspiration of his 
public toil. 

The peculiar excellence of his oratorical character 
was refined enthusiasm. The exercise of this was fre- 
quent and most cfiective. In the great debates which he 
mainly led in Faneuil Hall, on the Stamp- Act, the Boston 
Massacre, and the Boston Port-Bill, the pathos of his 
eloquence, the boldness of his invectives, and his im- 
pressive vehemence, powerfully in (lamed the zeal and 
aroused the resentment of an oppressed people. His 
lips teemed with those significant sounds and sweet 
airs which ever give delight, as in sincerity he could 
exclaim, 

"Hail to the glorious plans that spread 
The light -wilh universal beam, 
And through life's human desert spread 
Truth's living, pure, perpetual stream !" 

True enthusiasm is no other than the sublime inspira- 
tion of an imagination vividly exalted, always united to 
reason, which it does not sacrifice, but which it animates 
with the interest and pungency of impassioned senti- 



126 ORATORS OF -THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ment. It is not to astonish by the scaflblding of his 
learning, that the true orator addresses assembled multi- 
tudes; it is to agitate, instruct, and subdue them. True 
eloquence dissipates doubt and rends prejudice, as hot 
shot explode a magazine ; it is heat coinbined with force. 
Hence Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, compared Demos- 
thenes to a sacred fire kindled on the Acropolis at 
Athens, to illuminate and warm a people equally blind 
and careless, upon questions of the greatest moment. 

The orator of the people must vividly arouse in his 
own bosom all the grand sentiments of liberty, equality, 
humanity, and virtue, which are dormant in the hearts 
of all men. Before their fixed eyes and open mouths 
and swelling bosoms he must evoke the gigantic images 
of religion, country and glory. He must be able to 
make the meadows smile at their feet, and the shepherd's 
pipe of peace sound from distant hills; or, if it bet- 
ter suit his purpose, he must banish all pleasing images, 
and wrap the awed multitude in gloom made doubly 
fearful by earthquakes beneath and thunders on high. 
To do this successfully, there must be 

"Holy levealings, 
From the innermost shrine, from the light of the feelings." 

The speaker must foster a constant regard for the high 
principles of truth and justice. He must remember that 
human beings are composed not of reason only, but of 
imagination also, and sentiment ; and that his energies 
are legitimately employed only while, with simultaneous 
force, they give shape to the judgment and open proper 
springs of emotion in the heart. Speaking thus, he will 



JOSIAH aUINCY, JR. 127 

command universal confidence while he diftlises univer- 
sal delight. 

"And aged ears play truant at his tales, 
And younger hearings are quite ravishetl, 
So sweet and voluble is his discourse." 

Quincy appeared at an auspicious moment for the 
exercise of his peculiar talents. The statue of Liberty 
was not yet cast, but the metal was abundant, was al- 
ready boiling in the furnace, and how soon the glorious 
work was to be consummated, is indicated by the fol- 
lowing extract of an address which our orator published 
in the Boston Gazette, October, 1767 : 

" ]}e not deceived, my countrymen. Believe not 
these venal hirelings when they would cajole you by 
their subtleties into submission, or frighten you by their 
vaporings into compliance. When they strive to flatter 
you by the terms, "moderation and prudence," tell them 
that calmness and deliberation are to guide the judg- 
ment; courage and intrepidity command the action. 
When they endeavor to make us ' perceive our inability 
to oppose our mother country,' let us boldly answer : 
In defence of our civil and religious rights, we dare op- 
pose the world ; with the God of armies on our side, 
even the God who fought our fathers' battles, we fear 
not the hour of trial, though the host of our enemies 
should cover the field like locusts. If this be enthusiasm, 
we will live and die enthusiasts. Blandishments will 
not fascinate us, nor will threats of a 'halter,' intimidate. 
For under God, we are determined, that wheresoever, 
whensoever, or howsoever, we shall be called to make 
our exit, we will die freemen. 



128 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

" Well do -sve know that all the regalia of this world 
cannot dignity the death of a villain, nor diminish the 
the ignominy with which a slave shall quit his existence. 
Neither can it taint the unblemished honor of a son of 
freedom, though he should make iiis departure on the 
already prepared gibbet, or be dragged to the newly 
erected scaffold for execution. With the plaudits of his 
conscience he will go oft' the stage. A crown of joy 
and immortality shall be his reward. The history of his 
life his children shall venerate. The virtues of their 
sire shall excite their emulation." 

This is a fair specimen of Mr. Quincy's composition. 
It indicates a power to seize boldly on the attention of 
an audience. It is a style calculated to arouse its pity, 
or its indignation, its sympathies, its repugnances, or its 
pride. It is thus that the popular orator must deal with 
his fellow men, whether addressing them through the 
pen or living voice. He must seem to love the public 
breath and receive its inspiration, while it is himself 
who communicates to others his own. When he shall 
have, in a manner, detached all the souls of the com- 
munity from their bodies, and they have come to group 
themselves at his feet, and are docile under the magical 
power of his look, then might it be truly said that all 
those souls had passed into his own. Behold how they 
undulate in sympathy with the movements of the ora- 
torical mind, the master whom they rapturously obey. 
They advance or retire, are raised or depressed, as he 
wills. They are suspended upon his lips by the graces 
of persuasion, and by a glorious abandonment to his 



JOSIAH aUINCY, JR. 129 

own strong emotions, he captivates and subdues every 
listening spirit. 

In his popular harangues, Mr. Quincy produced the 
results of his extensive reading in a simple and most 
forcible manner, lie was familiar with the best writers 
in poetry and prose, and frequently quoted from them, 
especially the English dramatists. Tradition says, that 
in doing this, the execution was extraordinary, lie 
gave fortii not merely the verbiage, the cold medium of 
sentiment, but he vividly reproduced all that his author 
originally designed to express, lie quoted a literary 
gem as though every line and word had been early 
transplanted into his heart — had been brooded over in 
silence and bathed at the fount of tears, to burst forth 
when called for, like the spontaneous and native growth 
of his soul. 

However severe he was in private discipline, and 
strictly logical in the construction of his argument, in 
public, he stood unshackled, and careered over the popu- 
lar mind on the wings of a free and flexible imagination. 
We should estimate addresses made to miscellaneous 
audiences by the circumstances which demand a little 
license and a good deal of freedom. Who would be so 
rash as to apply the square and compass to the delicate 
lyre of Homer, or the sublime one of Pindar ? Thus 
wounded and encumbered, tlie divine instrument which 
before was redolent of ravishing harmony, henceforth 
utters nothing but sharp and discordant sounds. 

This i-efined enthusiasm, so habitually exemplified by 
Mr. Quincy, constituted the main force of his public in- 
6* 



130 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

fluence. His speech might generally be defined as being 
logic set on fire. This is true of all eflective eloquence. 
The speaking that is not imbued with the living light 
and heat of profound emotion, is like the statue of Po- 
lyphemus with his eye out ; that feature is absent which 
most shows the soul and life. 

About the last of September, 17G8, hordes of foreign 
troops were lauded in Boston from fourteen ships of war. 
With nuiskets loaded, bayonets fixed, drums beating, 
fifes playing, and fortified by a whole train of artillery, 
these mercenary soldiers took possession of the Common, 
the state-house, the court-house, and Fancuil Hall. It 
was at this moment of terror and danger that Quincy 
openly and fearlessly addressed his townsmen in a me- 
morable speech. The following is an extract from his 
oration, the whole of which was reported in the Boston 
Gazette of October 3d: 

"Oh, my countrymen! what will our children say 
when they read the history of these times, should they 
find we tamely gave way, without one noble struggle, 
the most invaluable of earthly blessings? As they drag 
the galling chain, will they not execrate us ? If we have 
any respect for things sacred ; any regard to the dearest 
treasure on earth ; — if we have one tender sentiment for 
posterity; — if we would not be despised by the world ; — 
let us, in the most open solemn manner, and with deter- 
mined fortitude swear, — we will die, — if we cannot live 
freemen !" 

Another fine display of his bold enthusiasm, was oc- 
casioned by the arrival of the obnoxious tea in Boston 



JOSIAII aUINCY, JR. 131 

harbor, on Saturday, November 27tli, 1773. A town 
meeting was held on the Monday following, and resolu- 
tions were passed, calling on the consignees not to receive 
it. In urging this measure, Mr. Quincy, with a strong 
perception ol" the events which would naturally follow, 
and wishing to try the spirit and to increase the energy 
of his fellow citizens, by setting before them in a strong 
light, the consequences that might be expected from 
their resolves, addressed the meeting in the following 
terms : 

" It is not, Mr. Moflerutor, the spirit that vapors 
within these walls that must stand us in stead. The ex- 
ertions of this day will call forth events, which will make 
a very diderent spirit necessary for our own salvation. 
Whoever supposes that shouts and hosannas will termi- 
nate the trials of the day, entertains a childish fancy. 
We must be grossly ignorant of the importance and 
value of the prize for which we contend ; we must be 
equally ignorant of the power of those combined against 
us ; we must be blind to that malice, inveteracy, and 
insatiable revenge, which actuate our enemies, public 
and private, abroad and in our bosom, to hope that we 
shall end this controversy without the sharpest conflicts; 
to flatter ourselves that popular resolves, popular ha- 
rangues, popular acclamations, and popular vapor, will 
vanquish our foes. Les us consider the issue. Let us 
look to the end. Let us weigh and consider, before we 
advance to those measures, which must bring on the 
most trying and terrible struggle this country ever 
saw." 



132 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

These specimens are en«ugh to show that, however 
powerful this orator was with his pen, he was much 
more potent when seen and heard in the impressive act 
of Uving and spontaneous speech. 

" How this grace 
Speaks his own standing ! what a mental power 
His eye shoots forth ! how big imagination 
Moves in his lip ! to the dumbness of the gesture 
One might interpret." 

The spirit of eloquence is a social spirit, dwelling in 
the midst of men, making appeals to their sympathies, 
beguiling them of their fears, and aggrandizing their 
minds. It gathered its thousands around the bema and 
rostrum of old ; it nerved nations like the tocsin of 
war, and made aggressions on the kingdoms of igno- 
rance and tyranny with the clear clarion cry of perpe- 
tual triumph. It was heard at the banquet of artists, 
the festival of authors, and the coronation of heroes. 
Eloquence was twin-born with Liberty ; together they 
have harmoniously lived through all vicissitudes, and 
together they have migrated from land to land. The 
spirit of eloquence is the sun, which from its rising, in- 
spired the statue of Memnon; it is the flame which 
warmed into life the image of Prometheus. It is this 
which causes the graces and the loves to take up their 
habitations in the hardest marble, to subsist in the emp- 
tiness of light and shadow on the pictured canvas, or in 
winged words to bound from soul to soul through con- 
gregated masses with the potency and impressiveness ot 
omnipotence. 



JOSIAII QUINCY, JR. 133 

Mr. Quincy possessed, in no ordinary degree, those 
attributes of voice, figure, look and action, which are 
essential to complete the full charm of eloquence. His 
face was instinct with expression ; his eye, in particular, 
glowed with intellectual splendor. 

The lovers of elegant oratory must have keenly en- 
joyed Quincy's thrilling, imaginative, yet forcible style 
of address, which broke forth like intermittent flashes of 
lightning amid the thunders of colonial agitation. When 
fully aroused in view of the coming conflict, he was 
" seraphic all in fervency," and was superlatively im- 
pressive while " rolling the rapturous hosanna round." 
He was not less a patriot, for being something of a poet; 
he was in soul an orator, and his ardent heart fused into 
the liquid flow of brilliant eloquence ihe purest elements 
of democratic power. He had a warm heart and quick 
perception, organs which are ever on the alert to explore 
the beautiful and feel the sublime under all their forms ; 
borrowing from multifarious life all its sensations, from 
nature all its wealth, and from art all its blandishments. 
If the fastidious condemned his style, the enraptured 
masses of the people adored his sentiments; some, it 
may be, pronounced him too ornate, and others too dif- 
fuse, but all listened to him with that profound admira- 
tion which is always the test and reward of noble and 
harmonious eloquence, emanating from a generous and 
honest heart. 

" As I listen'd to thee, 
The happy hours pass'd by us unperceiv'd, 
So was my soul fixed to the soft enchantment." 



134 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

The popular orator must study the whole nature of man, 
and learn how to sway his passions, prejudices and sen- 
sibilities, as well as his reasoning faculty. The human 
soul is Hke a many-stringed instrument, upon which he 
alone can play with success who can touch with skill 
all the cords. And Hume, with all the ancient critics, 
has pronounced in favor of the orator who can produce 
the most powerful efl'ect on the passions. Quinctilian 
says, logicians can be found every where. " An able 
argument is not rare ; but seldom has that orator ap- 
peared W'hose eloquence could carry the judge out of 
his depth ; who could throw him into what disposition 
of mind he pleased, fire him into resentment, or soften 
him into tears." Many have constructed arguments as 
logical as those of Demosthenes and Cicero, but none 
ever an-ayed them before their audiences with such 
magic power. The greatest men of the age acknow- 
ledged the resistless force of such oratory. Even Julius 
Ccesar once confessed himself subdued by the eloquence 
of Cicero, and absolved a criminal contrary to his set- 
tled purposes. 

Abstract speculations and the astute deductions ot 
the metaphysician are very well in their place, but they 
are not by any means the best part of eloquence. On 
the contrary, they are utterly subversive of that glow 
of interest, vivacity of spirit, and richness of sentiment, 
which it is the prerogative of eloquence alone to create. 

" Clear arguments may raise 
In short succession : yet th' oratoric draught 
Shall occupy attention's stedfast soul." 

From deep and ardent enthusiasm alone, gush up 



JOSIAII QUINCY, JR. 135 

with irresistible impetuosity those overflowing streams 
of thrilHng emotion, which take captive the popular 
heart and ignite it with corresponding zeal. 

We have said that Mr. Quincy appeared at a time 
favorable to the cultivation of extraordinary force in 
speech. All great masters in this divine art are disci- 
plined in storms. When Demosthenes — " the orator by 
eminence" — was thundering his patriotism over the 
country of his birth, and summoning the "band of the 
faithful" to resist the encroachments of a foreign and 
merciless usurper, he made Philip of Macedon quake to 
the very centime of his iron heart. That this faculty was 
soon extensively cultivated in ancient Greece, besides a 
vast quantity of evidence derived from other sources, 
not only from historians, but, likewise, from actual speci- 
mens of oratory yet extant, we may infer from the 
poems of Homer. This "Prince of Poets" invests his 
heroes with all the charm of eloquence, and in the third 
book of the Iliad there is a beautiful comparison between 
the oratory of Ulysses and that of Menelaus. This com- 
parison cannot be more happily expressed than in the 
language of the admirable translation, by the illustrious 
poet of Twickenham. 

" When Atreus' son harangued the listening train, 
Just was his sense, and his expression plain ; 
His words succinct yet full, without a fault, 
He spoke no more than just the thing he ought. 
But, when Ulysses rose, in thought profound, 
His modest eyes he fixed upon the ground ; 
As one unskilled or dumb, he seemed to stand, 
Nor raised his head, nor stretched his sceptred hand. 



136 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

But, when he speaks, what elocution flows ! 
Soft as the fleeces of descending snows, 
The copious accents fall, with easy art, 
Melting they fall and sink into the heart. 
Wondering we hear; and fi.xed in deep surprise. 
Our ears refute the censure of our eyes." 

The eloquence of Nestor, of Diomede, of Hector, and 
of Agamemnon is truly pre-eminent. Of each of these 
men it may be said, with emphasis, that in this depart- 
ment, at least, he was unsurpassed if not unequalled. 
Their oratory embraces a union of the most polished 
elegance, the most glossy neatness, and the most exquisite 
modulation, with a remarkable purity and originality of 
mind, and strength and pomp of diction. The reply of 
Diomede to Agamemnon, in the ninth Iliad, displays the 
highest order of intellect and sentiment; and it is 
worthy of frequent and attentive perusal, so rich is it in 
sublimity and noble pathos. 

" When kings advise us to renounce our fame 

First let him speak, who first has suffered shame. 

If I oppose thee, prince, thy wrath withhold, 

The laws of council bid my tongue be bold; 

Thou first, and thou alone, in field of fight 

Durst brand my courage, and defame my might : 

Nor from a friend th' unkind reproach appeared, 

The Greeks stood witness, all our army heard. 

The Gods, Chief! from whom our honors spring, 

The Gods have made thee but by halves a king. 
****** 

The noblest power, that might the world control, 
They gave thee not, — a brave and virtuous soul. 
Is this a general's voice, that would suggest 
Fears like his own to every Grecian breast ? 



JOSIAII aUINCY, JR. 137 

Confiding in our want of worth he stands ; 

And if we fly, 'tis what our king commands. 

Go thou, inglorious ! from the embattled plain ; 

Ships thou hast store, and nearest to the main. 

A nobler care the Grecains shall employ, 

To combat, conquer, and extirpate Troy. 

Here Greece shall slay; or if all Greece retire, 

Myself will stay, 'till Troy or I expire ; 

Myself and Sthenelus will fight for fame ; 

God bade us fight ; and 'twas with God we came." 

The tears which an orator like Quincy compels his 
audience to shed, make friends and brothers of them all. 

"One touch of naturfmakes the whole world kin." 

Faith and feeling become strengthened by diffusion. 
Each individual feels himself stronger among so many 
kindred associates, and the minds of all flow together in 
one grand and irresistible stream. The auditor loves to 
yield himself up to the fascination of a rich, mellow 
voice, a commanding attitude, and a brilliant physiog- 
nomy. He outruns the illusion. He is thrilled in every 
nerve, he is agitated with rapture or remorse, w^ith in- 
dignation or grief. He blends all his emotions with 
the speaker, and is subdued or inspired under his power. 
He soon becom.es stripped of all defence, and willingly- 
exposed to every blow, so that the greatest effects are 
produced by the slightest words adroitly directed and 
skillfully expressed. 

Mr. Quincy died before our national triumph was 
won. But he saw its glories. He prophetically de- 
scribed them in language worthy of his august theme, 
and equalled only by the splendid reality when it came. 



138 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

"Spirits and genii like those who arose in Rome," 
said he, " will one day make glorious this more western 
world. America hath in store her Bruti and Cassii, — ■ 
her riampdens and Sidneys; — patriots and heroes, wiio 
will iorm a hand of brothers: — men, who will have 
memories and feelings, courage and swords ; — courage, 
that shall inflame their ardent bosoms, till their hands 
cleave to their swords, and their swords to their ene- 
mies' hearts." 



CHAPTER V. 
JOHN HANCOCK, 

DIGNIFIED CAVALIER OF LIBERTY. 

The Revolutionary period of our history is exceed- 
ingly interesting, whether considered in the object at 
stake, the series of acts by which it was accomplished, 
or its immediate and remote results. Says Spai'ks, "it 
properly includes a compass of twenty years, extending 
from the close of the French war in America to the 
general peace at Paris. The best history in existence, 
though left unfinished, that of the Pelopomiesian war, 
by Thucydides, embraces exactly the same space of 
time, and is not dissimilar in the details of its events. 
The Revolutionary period, thus defined, is rounded with 
epic exactness, having a beginning, a middle, and an 
end ; a time for causes to operate, for the stir of action, 
and for the final results. The machinery in motion is 
on the broadest scale of grandeur. We see the new 
world, young in age, but resolute in youth, lifting up 
the arm of defiance against the haughtiest power of the 
old ; fleets and armies, on one side, crossing the ocean 
in daring attitude and confiding strength; on the other, 
men rallying round the banner of union, and fighting 
on their natal soil for freedom, rights, existence; the 



140 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

long struggle and successful issue ; hope confirmed, 
justice triumphant. The passions are likewise here at 
work, in all the changing scenes of politics and war, in 
the deliberations of the senate, the popular mind, and the 
martial excitements of the field. We have eloquence 
and deep thought in council, alertness and bravery in 
action, self-sacrifice, fortitude, and patient suffering of 
hardships through toil and danger to the last. If we 
search for the habiliments of dignity with which to 
clothe a histarical subject, or the loose drapery of orna- 
ment with which to embellish a narrative, where shall 
we find them thronging more thickly, or in happier 
contrasts than during this period ?" 

Prominent among the actors in the great drama 
I'eferred to above, was John Hancock. He was born 
in Quincy, formerly Braintree, 1737. The grandfather 
and the father of our hero were both distinguished 
clergymen. His father died early, leaving him to the 
care of a ^'ealthy uncle, by whom he was educated and 
made the heir of great wealth. Young Hancock, at 
the early age of seventeen, was graduated at Harvard, 
in the year 1754. Having spent some years in the 
counting-house of his uncle, in 17G0 he visited England, 
was present at the funeral of George II. and the coro- 
nation of his successor — a monarch against whom he 
was destined to wage a protracted and successful war. 
When twenty-seven years old, he returned to his native 
land, and, on the death of his generous patron, came 
into the possession of an immense fortune. 

In October, 1774, Mr. Hancock was unanimously 
elected president of the Massachusetts Provincial Con- 



JOHN HANCOCK. 141 

vention. The next year, the first of the Revolution, 
he ascended to the highest political distinction then 
possible, by being made the president of the Continental 
Congress. It has been well remarked, " that by his 
long experience in business as moderator of the town- 
meetings, and presiding officer and speaker of the 
provincial assembhes, during times of great turbulence 
and commotion, he was eminently qualified, as well as 
by his natural dignity of manners, to preside in this 
great council of the nation." 

Hancock was chosea governor of Massachusetts in 
1779, and was annually re-elected until 1785. After 
an interval of two years, during which Mr. Bowdoin 
occupied the post, Hancock was again placed in the 
governor's chair, which he occupied until Oct. 8, 1793, 
when he died, aged 56 years. 

Mr. Hancock was a magnificent liver, lavishingly 
bountiful when once enlisted, and splendidly Hospitable 
to the friends of any cause he loved. Mr. Tudor, in 
his life of Otis, thus speaks of the effect which the 
sudden acquisition of his uncle's bounty had upon him, 
and the manner in which his resources were employed. 

" This sudden possession of wealth turned the eyes of 
the whole community towards him, his conduct under 
this trying prosperity secured universal esteem and 
good will. It made him neither giddy, arrogant, nor 
profligate ; he continued his course of regularity, in- 
dustry, and moderation. Great numbers of people 
received employment at his hands, and in all his com- 
mercial transactions, he exhibited that fair and liberal 



142 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

character which commonly distinguishes the extensive 
and affluent merchant." 

It was natural that the Boston patriots should wish 
to enHst this ardent and influential citizen in the popular 
cause. The manner in which this end was attained is 
described in the following letter from John Adams to 
the author referred to above : " I was one day walking 
in the mall, and accidentally met Samuel Adams. In 
taking a few turns together, we came in full view of 
Mr. Hancock's house. Mr. Adams, pointing to the 
stone building, said, 'This town has done a wise thing 
to dav-' * What T ' They have made that young man's 
fortune their own.' His prophecy was literally fulfilled, 
for no man's property was ever more entirely devoted 
to the public. The town had that day chosen Mr. 
Hancock into the legislature of the province. The 
quivering anxiety of the public under the fearful looking- 
for of the vengeance of king, ministry, and parliament, 
compelled him to a constant attendance in the House, 
his mind was soon engrossed by public cares, alarms, 
and terrors ; his business was left to subalterns, his 
private aflairs neglected, and continued to be so to the 
end of his life."' 

Once interested in the cause of his country, he put 
every thing at stake, and incurred the most violent 
hatred of England. He was the dignified cavalier of 
American liberty. In the procl-amation issued by Gen- 
eral Gasje, after the batlle of Lexington, and a few days 
before that of Bunker Hill, ofTering pardon to the rebels, 
he and Samuel Adams were especially excepted, their 
offences beins; '' of too flasiticus a nature to admit 



JOHN HANCOCK. 143 

of any other consideration than that of condign pun- 
ishment." 

When the Declaration of Independence was to be 
authenticated by the signature of the president of 
Congress, and given to the world, Hancock wrote his 
name in a bold character, that was evidently designed 
never to be erased. 

Hancock and Adams, by their station in popular 
esteem, and zeal in the popular cause, succeeded Otis 
as the object of parliamentary insult and denunciation, 
as is evident from abundant instances recorded in the 
debates of that day. The two following are extracted 
from the speeches of Mr. Fox. The first occurred in 
a debate in 1779, on the Irish discontents, when he 
assailed Mr. Dundas, and illustrated the present subject, 
by allusions to former measures respecting America : — 
" What was the consequence of the sanguinary mea- 
sures recommended in those bloody, inflammatory 
speeches ? Though Boston was to be starved, though 
Hancock and Adams were proscribed — yet, at the feet 
of these very men, the Parliament of Great Britain 
were obliged to kneel, to flatter, and to cringe ; and as 
they had the cruelty at one time to denounce ven- 
geance against those men, so they had the meanness 
afterwards to prostrate themselves before them, and 
implore their forgiveness. — Was he who called the 
Americans 'Hancock and his crew,' to reprehend any 
set of men for inflammatory speeches ?" In the debate 
on the address to the king, in 1781, speaking of the 
American war, he said, " They (the ministers) com- 
menced war against America after that country had 



144 ouATOus or xiir: amkuican khvot.ution. 

ofleird the fairest propositions, and extended her amis 
to receive us into tiie closest connection. They did 
this contrary to their own sentiments of \vhat was 
right, but they were over-ruled hy that high and secret 
authority, whicii they (hust not disobey, and from 
which they derive tlieir situations, 'i'liey were ordered 
to go on with the American war or (juit their phices. 
They i>rei"erred emolument to duty, and kept their 
ostensible ])ower at the expense o[' their country. To 
delude the parliamclit and the people, they then described 
the contest to be a mere squabble. It was not America 
with \vhom we had t(^ contend, it was with 'Hancock 
am/ his ctrir,' a handful of nuMi would march triumph- 
antly Irom one end of the continent to the other." This 
was the language sounded in that House, and for this 
hmguage a learned member of it (Lord Loughborough) 
was exalted to the dignify of a peer, and enrolled 
among the hereditary council of the realm. He was 
thus rewarded for no other merit, that he could discover, 
but that oi' vehemently abusing our fellow subjects in 
America, and calling their opjiosition, the war of 
"JLnicock and his crew." 

]\Jr. Hancock was indefixtigable in his patriotic labors 
to the last days of his lite. The author of " Familiar 
Letters on Public Characters," who was his neighbor 
and knew him well, says that Hancock was mainly 
instrumental in causing the constitution to be adopted 
in Massachusetts. " He iiad been absent some days, 
from illness. On the .'list of January, 1788, he resumed 
his place, and after remarking on the difference of 
opinion which prevailed in the convention, as he had 



JOHN HANCOCK. 145 

seen from the. ])ai)ers, lie had lo pro])oso that the con- 
stitution siiould he adoiited ; hut that the adoption 
should he accompanied hy certain amendments, to he 
suhn lifted to Congress, and to the States, lie expressed 
his hehel', that it would be safe to adopt the constitution, 
under the expectation that the amendments would bo 
ratified. The discussion appears then, to liave turned 
on the probal)ility of obtaining sucii ratification. It 
cannot be assumed, for certainty, that this measure of 
Hancock's secured the adoption ; but it is highly proba- 
ble. The convention may have been influenced by 
another circumstance. About this time a great meet^ 
ing of mechanics was held at the Green Dragon tavern, 
situated in what is now part of Union street, and 
westerly of the IJaptist meeting-house. Tlie tavern and 
the street were thn^nged. At this meeting resolutions 
were passed, with unanimity and acclamation, in favor 
of the adoption. But notwithstanding Hancock's con- 
ciliatory jiroposal, and this cx])ression of public feeling, 
the constitution was adopted by the small majority of 
nineteen out of three hundred and filty-fivc votes. 

" The adoption was celebrated in Boston by a memo- 
rable procession, in which the various orders of mechan- 
ics disj)laycd appropriate banners. It was hailed with 
joy throughout the States. General Washington is well 
known to have expressed his heartlelt satisfaction that 
the important State of Massachusetts had acceded to 
the union." 

The talents of Hancock were useful, rather than 
brilliant. His personal dignity and groat practical skill 
in business, rendered him a superior presiding officer in 
7 



146 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

deliberative assemblies. Ilis voice was sonorous, his 
apprehensions were quick, and iiis knowledge of par- 
liamentary forms, combined with his well known devo- 
tion to the popular cause, rendered him the object of 
universal respect. 

When Washington consulted the legislature of Mas- 
sachusetts upon the pro})riety of bombarding Boston, 
Hancock advised its being done immediately, if it 
would benefit the cause, although the most of his 
immense property consisted in houses and other real 
estate in that town. 

But Hancock was ready to sacrifice more than pro- 
perty, more than life even ; if necessary, he was willing 
to sacrifice his popularity in aid of the cause of national 
freedom. Though in this matter he was a man of deeds 
more than woi'ds, yet be shunned not in the most public 
and forcible manner to express the most ardent and 
patriotic sentiments. 

In the very darkest hour of colonial despair, ho came 
boldly forward in an exercise commemorative of those 
who fell in the unhappy collision with British soldiers 
in State street, and in his " Oration on the Massacre," 
as it was called, poured forth the following terrible 
denunciations: 

" Let this sad tale of death never be told without a 
tear; let not the heaving bosom cease to burn with a 
manly indignation at the relation of it, through the long 
tracts of future time ; let every parent tell the shameful 
story to his listening children till tears of pity glisten 
in their eyes, or boiling passion shakes their tender 
frames. 



JOHN HANCOCK. 147 

" Dark and designing knaves, murderers, parricides ! 
how dare you tread upon tiie hearth which has drunk 
the blood of skiughtered innocence, shed by your hands? 
How dare you breathe that air which wafted to the ear 
of heaven the groans of those who fell a sacrifice to 
your accursed ambition ? But if the laboring earth 
does not expand her jaws — if the air you breathe is not 
commissioned to be the minister of death — yet, bear it, 
and tremble! The eye of heaven penetrates the secret 
chambers of the soul ; and you, though screened from 
human observation, must be arraigned — must lift your 
hands, red with the blood of those whose death you 
have procured at the tremendous bar of God." 

In an oration delivered in Boston, on the 5th of 
March, 1774, Mr. Hancock concluded with the follow- 
ing excellent remarks : 

" I have the most animating confidence, that the pre- 
sent noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously 
for America. And let us play the man for our God, 
and for the cities of our God ; while we arc using the 
means in our power, let us humbly commit our right- 
eous cause to the great Lord of the universe, who loveth 
righteousness and hateth iniquity. And having secured 
the approbation of our hearts, by a faithful and unwea- 
ried discharge of our duty to our country, let us joyfully 
leave ouj- concerns in the hands of Him who raiseth up 
and pulleth down the empires and kingdoms of the world." 

The Greeks had a saying that every man lived as he 
spoke; and Quinctilian tells us that it used to be said of 
Cassar, that he always spoke with the same mind as that 
with which he conducted war. Hancock was natu- 



148 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

rally energetic, and in his happier inspirations he was 
very eloquent. Under his oratorical sway, his cotem- 
poraries were sometimes greatly moved. 

" Their listening: powers 
Were awed, and every thought in silence hung, 
And wondering expectation." 

New England has ever been fruitful of ripe scholars 
and eftectiv^e speakers. Why is this? Why should 
vivid imagination, blended with sound judgment, abound 
in that frigid region ? We think that several causes 
tend to produce the result ; and among the first is the 
fact of its high northern latitude and rugged soil. 

Edward Everett, speaking on this topic, well remarks: 
" The qualities of our climate and soil enter largely in 
other ways into that natural basis, on which our pros- 
perity and our freedom have been reared. It is these 
which distinguish the smiling aspect of our busy, 
thriving villages from the lucrative desolation of the 
sugar islands, and all the wide-spread, undescribed, inde- 
scribable miseries of the colonial system of modern 
Europe, as it has existed beyond the barrier of these 
mighty oceans, in the unvisited, unprotected, and un- 
avenged recesses of either India. We have had abun- 
dant reason to be contented with this austere sky, this 
hard, unyielding soil. Poor as it is, it has left us no 
cause to sigh for the luxuries of the tropics, nor to covet 
the mines of the southern regions of our hemisphere. 
Our rough and hardly subdued hill-sides and barren 
plains have produced us that, which neither ores, nor 
spices, nor sweets could purchase, — which would not 



JOHN HANCOCK. 149 

spring in the richest gardens ol' the despotic East, The 
compact numbers and the strength, the general intelU- 
gence and the civihzation, which, since the world began, 
were never exhibited beneath the sultry line, have been 
the precious product of this iron-bound coast. The 
I'ocks and the sands, which would yield us neither the 
cane nor the coffee tree, have yielded us, not only an 
abundance and a growth in resources, rarely consistent 
with the treacherous profusion of tropical colonies, but 
the habits, the manners, the institutions, the industrious 
population, the schools and the churches, beyond all the 
wealth of all the Indies. 

'Man is the nobler growth our soil supplies, 
And souls are ripened in our northern skies.' 

" Describe to me a country rich in veins of the pre- 
cious metals, that is traversed by good roads. Inform 
me of the convenience of bridges, where the rivers roll 
over golden sands. Tell me of a thrifty, prosperous vil- 
lage of freemen, in the miserable districts where every 
clod of the earth is kneaded up for diamonds, beneath 
the lash of the task-master. No, never ! while the con- 
stitution, not of States, but of human nature, remains 
the same; never, while the laws, not of civil society, 
but of God are unrepealed, will there be a hardy, virtu- 
ous, independent yeomanry, in regions where two acres 
of untilled banana will feed a hundred men. It is idle 
to call ihat food, which can never feed a free, intelligent, 
industrious population. It is not food; it is dust ; it is 
chaff; it is ashes ; there is no nourishment in it, if it be 



150 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

not carefully sown, and painfully reaped, by laborious 
freemen, on their own fee-simple aci'es." 

In hardy industry, the body becomes healthy and ath- 
letic ; while the mind, by like discipline, grows free and 
mighty in its freedom. It is to be expected, under such 
circumstances, that a race of men will spring up in full 
maturity, as from the sowing of Cadmus. Such per- 
sons enjoy the highest liberty, and are prompt to defend 
their rights, exclaiming, 

" Seize then, my soul! from Freedom's trophied dome, 
The harp which hangeth high between the shields 
Of Brutus and Leonidas ! With that 
Strong music, that soliciting spell, force back 
Earth's free and stirring spirit that lies entranced." 

New England has a sterile soil and severe clime ; but 
she also has comfortable school-rooms and a cof)ious lite- 
rature, and these are the products and proofs of her 
greatest power. Our distinguished countryman, Mr. 
Wheaton, in his history of the Northmen, indicates the 
reasons why they are passionately attached to their 
bleak homes, and why they are not only happy there, 
but intelligent beyond the majority of mankind. Before 
the tenth century, Iceland possessed a national litera- 
ture in full bloom. The flowers of poetry sprang up 
luxuriantly amidst eternal ice and snows. Ennobling 
wisdom and beautifying art were cultivated with suc- 
cess. How so? The Icelanders were free and inde- 
pendent. Their arctic isle was not warmed by a Gre- 
cian sun, but their hearts glowed with the fire of free- 
dom. The natural divisions of the country by icebergs 



JOHN HANCOCK. 151 

and lava streams, insulated the people from each other, 
and the inhabitants of each valley and each hamlet 
formed, as it were, an independent community. These 
were again re-united in the general national assembly 
of the Althing, which resembled the Amphyctiontic 
Council or Olympic Games, where all the tribes of the 
nation convened to offer the common rites of their re- 
ligion, to legislate on general affairs, and to listen to the 
lays of the Skald and the eloquent eulogy which com- 
memorated the exploits of their ancestors. The best 
writers of England and Germany have been translated 
into Icelandic, and when each family pursues its avoca- 
tions through dreary winters, assembled around the 
reading and working lamp pendant from each roof, it is 
the business of some one constantly to read aloud from 
favorite authors, a practice which explains wdiy the 
people are free, and their intellects both elegant and pro- 
found. 

It is not often that education becomes subservient to 
the cause of tyranny. France, in three revolutions, 
poured forth her scholars to protect popular rights. 
Elevated institutions of learning have almost always 
arj-ayed themselves on the side of liberty. The Univer- 
sity of Oxford presents a melancholy exception, in 
connection with the era when the spirit of republicanism 
was extinguished for a time, in the blood of Sidney and 
Russell. In direct reference to the death of these 
patriots, while the block was yet reeking with their 
blood, that institution, in solemn convocation, declared 
that the principles for which they died — that civil au- 
thority is derived from the people — that government is 



152 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

a mutual compact between the sovereign and the sub- 
ject — that fhe latter is discharged from his obligation 
if the former fail to perform his — that birthright gives 
no exclusive right lo govern — were "damnable doc- 
trines, impious principles, fitted to deprave the manners 
and corrupt the minds of men, promote seditions, over- 
turn states, induce murder, and lead to atheism." But, 
when, in the Colonies of Amei'ica, gathered and burst 
the tempest which threatened to " push from its moor- 
ings the sacred ark of the common safety, and to drive 
the gallant vessel, freighted with every thing dear, upon 
the rocks, or lay it a sheer hulk upon the ocean," then 
did the graduates of our colleges appear in the front 
rank of heroes, powerful to "ride on the whirlwind and 
direct the storm." 

Accuracy of observation is a trait in New England 
minds as prominent as that of patient investigation. 
An incident in the life of the German poet, Schiller, 
will illustrate this characteristic. His father once 
found him, perched in a solitary place on a tree, gazing 
at the tempestuous sky, and watching the flashes of 
lightning as luridly they gleamed over it. To the 
reprimands of his parent, the enthusiastic truant plead 
in extenuation " that the lightning was very beautiful, 
and that he wished to see where it was coming from." 
And so of the Yankees, they w-iil climb, if possible, to 
the sources of the sublime, and earnestly inquire whence 
every thing beautiful is derived. 

But, perhaps, that which gives most force and prac- 
ticalness to the oratory of the eastern States, is the 
influence which the Bible and religious institutions 



JOHN HANCOCK. 153 

every where exert on the popular mind. It is unneces- 
sary to multiply proofs of the divine power of religion 
in forming an effective style of written language and. 
living speech. Dryden attributes his excellence in 
prose composition, to the frequent perusal of Tillotson's 
works ; and Lord Chatham, when asked the secret of 
his elevated and eloquent style, replied that he had 
often learned Dr. Barrow's sermons by heart. 

If we carefully analyze the speeches of the greatest 
orators of Christendom, living and dead, we shall find 
them indebted for their best passages to the holy Scrip- 
tures. The influence of these on the mind of a true 
orator is well set forth in the following passage descrip- 
tive of Curran. "In the course of his eloquence, the 
classic treasures of profane antiquity are exhausted. 
He draws fresh supplies from the sacred fountain of 
living waters. The records of holy writ afford him the 
sublimest allusions. It is there he stirs every principle 
that agitates the heart or sways the conscience, carries 
his auditory whither he pleases, ascends from man to 
the Ueity, and, again, almost seems to call down to 
earth fire from heaven. While they who listen, filled 
with a sense of inward greatness, feel the high nobility 
of their nature in beholding a being of the same species 
gifted with such transcendent qualities, and, wrapt in 
wonder and delight, have a momentary relief, — that to 
admire the talents, is to participate in the genius of the 
orator." 

Mr. Pickering has left us the following description of 
the personal appearance of the subject of this sketch : 

" In June, 1782, Governor Hancock had the ap- 



154 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

pearance of advanced age, though only forty-five. He- 
had been repeatedly and severely afflicted with the gout, 
a disease much more common in those days than it 
now is, while dyspepsia, if it existed at all, was not 
known by that name. As recollected, at this time, 
Gov. Hancock was nearly six feet in stature, and of 
thin person, stooping a little, and apparently enfeebled 
by disease. His manners were very gracious, of the 
old style of dignified complaisance. His face had been 
very handsome. Dress was adapted quite as much lo 
be ornamental as useful. Gentlemen wore wigs when 
abroad, and, commonly, caps when at liome. At this 
time (June, 1782), about noon, Hancock was dressed 
in a red velvet cap, within which was one of fine linen. 
The latter was turned up over the lower edge of the 
velvet one, two or three inches. He wore a blue 
damask gown, lined with silk ; a white stock, a white 
satin embroidered waistcoat, black satin small-clothes, 
white silk stockings, and red morocco slippers." 

After having suffered severely for several years from 
gout, he died, as before stated, in October, 1793, aged 
fifty-six. His body lay in state at his mansion for 
some days, and then was interred with extraordinary 
demonstrations of public grief 

" IIow peaceful and how powerful is the grave !" 




=\ 



<JJ CD S IE IP lUT \v\\ ;i Hi IIR JJ .: Y 




CHAPTER VI. 
JOSEPH WARREN, 

TYPE OF OUR MARTIAL ELOQUENCE. 

Before proceeding to the main object of the present 
sketch, let us briefly review the circumstances which 
compelled our fathers to the employment of military 
force in the conquest of personal and national freedom. 

The British cabinet attempted to tax the Colonies, 
under the pretence of providing for their protection, but 
in reality to relieve the nation from the enormous debt 
under which Great Britain was oppressed. In March, 
1704, as a prelude to the Stamp- Act, the House of Com- 
mons resolved, " That towards fm'ther defraying the 
necessary expenses of protecting the Colonies, it maybe 
necessary to charge certain stamp duties upon them ;" 
and this resolution was followed by what was commonly 
called- the Sugar Act, passed on the 5th of April, pre- 
faced by the following obnoxious preamble : " Whereas 
it is JUST and necessary that a revenue be raised in 
America, for defraying the expenses of defending, pro- 
tecting, and securing the same ; we, the commons, &c., 
towards raising the same, give and grant unto your 
Majesty, after the 29th day of September, 1764, on clay- 



156 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLl'TION. 

ed sugar, indigo, and coffee, &;c., »Scc., tiie sum of," &c. 
This measure, declared by parliament to be so just, was 
regarded by its subjects here as oppressive and tyranni- 
cal, and as such they treated it. It is literally true that 
they waged war against a preamble. 

Having passed both Houses ot" rarliament, on the 
22d of March, the Stamp- Act received the royal assent. 
Dr. Franklin, then in England, as agent for Pennsvl- 
vania, wrote to Charles Thompson, afterwards Secretary 
of Congress — " Tlie sun of liberty is set; you must light 
up the lamps of industry and economy." Mr. Thomp- 
son significantly replied, " Tiiat he thought other lights 
would be lighted up to resist these unconstitutional mea- 
sures." The Colonies were immediately and deeply 
aroused. The pulpit, especially, in New England, la- 
bored in the patriotic cause with great zeal and ellect. 
The fires oi' liberty were kindled in every vale and on 
every hill, spreading their heat and light from province 
to province, until the conflagration embraced the whole 
land. 

In Virginia the cry of resistance resounded in tones 
of thunder. In Xew York, ten boxes of stamps were 
seized by the pojndace. and destroyed. In Massachu- 
setts, the strife was sterner still, and there, under the 
violence of hired rutlians, the first martyrs to American 
liberty fell. Otis, the invincible advocate, was mutilated 
by the bludgeons and dirks of assassins, Gray and other 
worthy citizens were shot down in the streets, and, in 
the great battle which these and other outrages had 
hastened, Warren expired. 

Joseph Warren was born in Koxburv, in 177-1. When 



JOSEPH WARREN. 157 

fourteen years old, he entered Harvard college, where he 
bore a high character, and graduated with distinction. 
Under the direction of Dr. Lloyd, he studied medicine, 
and in the course of a few years became a distinguished 
practitioner in the town of Boston. 

But he soon became absorbed in the great questions 
of the day, and sacrificed the fairest prospects for wealth 
and luxurious ease to perpetual toil in behalf of his 
country. In 1708, Dr. Warren addressed a letter to 
Governor Bernard, which the minions of royalty re- 
garded as libellous, and an attempt was made to silence 
the author by an indictment, but the grand jury refused 
to find a bill. Nothing daunted, our hero became more 
busy than ever with both pen and tongue, and as the 
aflection with which he was regarded, especially by the 
industrious classes, was universal and sincere, his in- 
fluence upon all ranks was very great. 

In the most open scenes and in the presence of the 
most envenomed foes, he was explicit in the assertion of 
republican sentiments and fearless in o])position to regal 
arrogance. A memorable instance illustrative of his 
character occurred in 1775. Several years before he 
had delivered the annual oration, connnemorative of the 
massacre of the 5th of March, 17t)0, and when the time 
arrived for the appointment of an orator for 1775, he 
solicited the honor of appearing on that occasion in 
consequence of a threat uttered by some of the British 
officers, that they would take the life of any man who 
should dare to speak of the massacre on that anniver- 
sary. The day arrived, and the " Old South" was filled 



158 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

to overflowing ; the aisles, the stairs, and even the pul- 
pit, were occupied by a foreign military. The intrepid 
orator made his entrance by a ladder at the pulpit win- 
dow, and with cool, collected mein, addressed the im- 
mense auditory. An awful stillness preceded the exor- 
dium. Each man felt the pal})itations of his own heart, 
and saw the pale but determined face of his neighbor. 
The speaker began his oration in a firm tone of voice, 
and proceeded with great energy and pathos. Warren 
and his friends were prepared to chastise contumely, 
and avenge an attempt at assassination. 

" The scene was sublime. A patriot, in whom the 
flush of youth and the grace and dignity of manhood 
were combined, stood armed in the sanctuary of God, to 
animate and encourage the sons of liberty, and to hurl 
defiance at their oppressors. The orator commenced 
with the early history of the country, described the 
tenure by which we held our liberties and property, the 
aflection we had constantly shown the parent country, 
boldly told them how, and by whom these blessings of 
life had been violated. There w^as in this appeal to 
Britain — in this description of suffering, agony, and 
horror, a calm and high-souled defiance which must 
have chilled the blood of every sensible foe. Such an- 
other hour has seldom happened in the history of man, 
and is not surpassed in the records of nations. The 
thunder of Demosthenes rolled at a distance from Philip 
and his host — and TuUy poured the fiercest torrent of 
his invective when Cataline was at a distance, and his 
dagger no longer to be feared ; but Warren's speech 



JOSEPH WARREN. 159 

was made to proud oppressors, resting on their arms, 
whose errand it was to overawe, and whose business it 
was to fight. 

If the deed of Brutus deserved to be commemorated 
by history, poetry, painting, and sculpture, should not 
this instance of patriotism and bravery be held in last- 
ing remembrance ? If he 

" That struck the foremost man of all this world," 

was hailed as the first of freemen, what honors are not 
due to him, who; undismayed, bearded the British lion, 
to show the world what his countrymen dared to do in 
the cause of liberty ? If the statue of Brutus was placed 
among those of the gods, who were the preservers of 
Roman freedom, should not that of Warren fill a lofty 
niche in the temple reared to perpetuate the remem- 
brance of our birth as a nation ?" 

An extract from this oration will be adduced, when 
we come to speak of Warren's eloquence. We are 
now more particularly concerned with his bravery. On 
hearing of the conflict at Lexington he hastened to the 
bloody scene and shared in its perils. While pressing 
on the foe, a musket-ball took off a lock of his hair close 
to his ear. Previous to receiving the appointment of 
major-general, he had been requested to take the office 
of physician-general to the army, but he chose to be 
where wounds were to be made, rather than where they 
were to be healed. Yet he lent his aid to the medical 
department of the army, and was of great service in its 
organization. 



160 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Several days before the battle of Bunker Hill, the 
Provincial Congress appointed Dr. Warren to the com- 
mand of their forces. The motive for not assuming 
the functions of that office, and the manner in which he 
chose to conduct himself on that occasion, are detailed 
as follows, in Austin's Life of Elbridge Gerry : "■ On the 
16th of June, he had a conversation with Mr. Gerry, at 
Cambridge, respecting the determination of Congress to 
take possession oi' Bunker Ilill. lie said that for him- 
self he had been opposed to it, but that the majority had 
determined uj)on it, and he would hazard his life to carry 
their determination into effect. Mr. Gerry expressed in 
strong terms his disapprobation of the measure, as the 
situation was such that it would be in vain to attempt 
to hold it, adding, ' but if it must be so, it is not worth 
while for you to be present ; it will be madness to ex- 
pose yourself, when your destruction will be almost in- 
evitable.' 'I know it,' he answered ; 'but I live within 
the sound of their cannon ; how could I hear their roar- 
ing in so glorious a cause, and not be there !' Again, 
Mr. Gerry remonstrated, and concluded with saying, 
'As surely as you go there, you will be slain!' General 
Warren replied enthusiastically, ' Dulce et decorum est 
pro patria mori.' The next day his principles were 
sealed with his blood. Having spent the greater part 
of the night in public business at Watertown, he arrived 
at Cambridge at about five o'clock in the morning, and 
being unwell, threw himself on a bed. About noon, he 
was inibrmed' of the state of preparation for battle at 
Charlestown ; he immediately arose, saying he was well 



JOSEPH WARREN. 161 

again, and mounting a horse, rode to tlic place. lie ar- 
rived at Breed's Hill a short time before the action com- 
menced. Colonel Prescott, ' the brave,' (as Washing- 
ton was afterwards in the habit of calling him,) was then 
the actual commanding officer. lie came up to General 
Warren to resign his command, and asked what were 
his orders. General Warren told him lie came not to 
command, but to learn ; and having, as it is said, bor- 
rowed a musket and cartouch-box, frjjm a sergeant who 
was retiring, he mingled in the thickest of the fight, 
animating and encouraging the men more by his exam- 
})le than it was possible to do in any other way. He 
fell after the retreat commenced, at some distance in the 
rear of the redoubt. A ball passed through his head, 
and killed him almost instantly. lie was thrown into 
the ground where he fell." 

General Warren may be taken as a tyjje of our mar- 
tial eloquence, as well as a specimen of the highest 
bravery. His career was brief, auspicious in its dawn, 
diversified in its progress, but glorious in its termination 
and subsecjueut infiuence on the welfare of man. He 
cast himself into the front ranks of the Revolution, and 
sacrificed himself the first victim of rank in the sublime 
struggle for national independence. 

While yet a student in college, he bore the reputation 
of great talents, undaunted courage, and a generous but 
indomitable independence of spirit. His manly life did 
not belie the promise of his youth, llis magnanimous 
spirit soon became tempered in the furnace of national 
sullering. His mental vision was therein clarified like 



162 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

a prophet's, and like one inspired he proclaimed the 
triumph for which he was ready to die. 

To his friend. Josiah Quincy, jr., then in London, 
advocating the claims of his country, he wrote the 
following memorable note, dated, 

"Boston, Nov. 21st, 1774. 

" It is the united voice of America to preserve their 
freedom, or lose their lives in defence of it. Their reso- 
lutions are not the effects of inconsiderate rashness, but 
the sound result of sober inquiry and deliberation. I 
am convinced that the true spirit of liberty was never 
so universally diffused through all ranks and orders of 
people, in any country on the face of the earth, as it 
now is through all North America." 

The times in which General Warren appeared were 
calculated to give a martial hue to men's minds, and 
powerfully to urge them to deeds of valor. By a little 
effort a fine collection of anecdotes might be made, to 
illustrate the determined resolution and ardent enthu- 
siasm, that pervaded the country. The instance of 
General Putnam is well known, who, hearing of the 
Lexington engagement while he was ploughing on his 
farm, more than a hundred miles distant, unyoked his 
cattle, left his plough in the unfinished furrow, and with- 
out changing his dress, mounted his horse and rode off 
to Cambridge, to learn the state of things. lie then 
returned to Connecticut and brought a regiment in the 
course of a few weeks. Among other examples that 
might be related, the following is from a living witness: 
The day that the report of this affair reached Barnstable, 
a company of militia immediately assembled and marched 



_/. 



JOSEPH WARREN, 163 

off to Cambridge. In the front rank, there was a young 
man, the son of a respectable fanner, and his only child. 
In marching from the village, as they passed his house, 
he came out to meet them. There was a momentary 
halt, the drum and fife paused for an instant. The father, 
suppressing a strong and evident emotion, said, "God 
be with you all, my friends ! and John, if you, my son, 
are called into battle, take care that you behave like a 
man, or else let me never see your face again !" A tear 
started into every eye, and the march was resumed. It 
was with this spirit that the noblest heroes of antiquity 
spoke and acted. "The forests of our arrows will ob- 
scure the sun," said Xerxes. " So much the better," 
replied Leonidas, "for then we shall fight in the shade." 

Warren was himself but a vivid reHection of the 
popular feeling and its strong expression. The instincts 
of a true soul are sure ; all the strength and all the 
divinity of knowledge lie enwrapped in some of the 
soul's profounder feelings. 

Great national commotions, like the American Revo- 
lution, generally elicit martial orators, whose eloquence 
is like their profession, full of thrusts the most piercing, 
and of blows the most deadly. The son of Macedonia 
and pupil of Aristotle, captivated Greeks and Barbarians 
as much by his eloquence as by his martial victories. 
Ca;sar commanded the Roman legions by the regal 
power of his speech. The great military eloquence of 
France was born amid the first shocks of tyranny and 
freedom. Napoleon, by a sudden blow of martial fire, 
embodied in words that spoke like exploding cannon, 
seized upon the old generals of tlie republic, upon the 



164 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

army, and upon his nation, — the irresistible empire of 
victory and of genius. 

But Warren aspired only for personal rights and 
national independence. For this l?e plead and fought 
with all the power he possessed, body and soul. He 
felt the value of the boon, and put every thing, except 
honor, in jeopardy to attain it. To convince, one must 
be convinced ; he must have something at stake, he 
must have character. 

As the storm thickened, and ordinary souls quailed at 
its lowering aspect and rapid approach, Warren stood 
unblenched. When the awful crisis actually had come, 
he coolly buckled on his armor, and only as he snufied 
the hot breath of battle, did he rise to the full height of 
his native grandeur. Then with bosom bared to the 
fiercest blows, and with heart throbbing high for his 
coiuitry's weliare, he rushed to the deadliest breach, 
diilusing animation among friends and consternation to 
foes. It is easy to conceive him careering amid the 
carnage on Bunker's heights, like Homer's hero on the 
plains of Troy : 

"Fill'd with the gotl, enlarged his muscles grew, 
Through all his veins a suJilen vigor flew, 
The blood in brisker tides began to roll, 
And INlars himself came rushing on his soul. 
Exhorting loud through all the field he strode, 
Anil lookeJ, and moved, Achilles, or a god." 

We gain a more distinct conception of the martial 
spirit of Warren, from the peculiar character of his 
eloquence yet extant. One extract will sutfice. 

On March Gth, 1775, he delivered an oration, com- 



JOSEPH WARREN. 165 

memorative of " the Boston Massncre." In that fearful 
scene an event occuiTcd which it is necessary to uien- 
tion in order to feel the force of Warren's skilHul and 
terrific amplification. After Mr. Gray had been shot 
throui^h the body, and had fallen dead on the ground, a 
bayonet was pushed through his skull ; part of the bone 
being broken, the brains fell out upon the pavement. 
The orator alludes to this act of needless barbarity in a 
manner worthy of Mark Anthony. 

" The many injuries offered to the town, I pass over 
in silence. I cannot now mark out the path which led 
to that unequalled scene of horror, the sad remembrance 
of which takes the full possession of my soul. The 
sanguinary theatre again opens itself to view. The 
baleiul images of terror crowd around me ; and discon- 
tented ghosts, with hollow groans, appear to solemnize 
the anniversary of the fifth of March. 

" Approach we then the melancholy walk of death. 
Hither let me call the gay companion ; here let him 
drop a farewell tear upon that body which so late ho 
saw vigorous and warm with social mirth ; hither let 
me lead the tender mother to weep over her beloved 
son — come, widowed mourner, here satiate thy grief; 
behold thy murdered husband gasping on the ground, 
and to complete the i)ompous sh(-)vv of wretchedness, 
bi'ing in each hand thy infant children to bewail their 
father's fate ; — take heed, ye orphan babes, lest, while 
' streaming eyes are fixed upon the ghastly corpse, your 
feet slide on the stones bespattered with your father's 
brains ! Enough ; this tragedy need not be heightened 
by an infant weltering in the blood of him that gave it 



16G OUATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

bii'th. Nature reluctant, shrinks already from the view, 
and the ehillocl blootl rolls slowly backward to its foun- 
tain. We wildly stare about, and with amazement ask, 
who spread this ruin round us ? What wretch has 
dared deface the image of God ? Has haughty France, 
or cruel Spain, sent forth her mvrmidons? Has the 
grim savage rushed again irom the far distant wildei'- 
ness, or does some fiend, fierce from the depth of 
hell, with all the rancorous malice which the a})ostate 
damned can feel, twang her destructive bow, and hurl 
her deadly arrows at our breast ? No, none of these — 
but, how astonishing ! it is the hand of Britain that 
inflicts the wound!" 

Warren, viewed as he uttered the above sentiments in 
" Old Soutli," was a striking symbol of the revolt against 
tyranny which he led. Without any other weapon than 
his eloquence, he boldly threw himself into the midst of 
hostile legions, like a brave old paladin, defying whole 
armies, alone. 

" Thou hast seen INIouiit Athos; 
While storms and tempests Ihumler on its brows, 
Ami oceans beat llieir billows at its feet, 
It stands unmoved and glories in its lieight. 
Such is that haughty man ; his towering soul, 
Midst all the shocks and injuries of fortune, 
Rises superior, and looks down on Caesar." 

Indignant at the eflorts made to stifle free discussion, 
and to cheat the popular mind "of that liberty which- 
rarifies and enlightens it like the influence of heaven," 
he proclaimed the rights of man, undismayed by menace, 
and cheered on his patriotic brethren, while he awed 



JOSEPH WAKREN. ' 167 

unprincipled sycophants into silence, His brave exam- 
ple and eloquent speech caused millions of hearts to beat 
with a common sentiment of resistance. Every rock 
and wild ravine was made a rampart to "the sons of 
liberty," and their banner was on every summit un- 
furled, inscribed in letters of fire, "Resistance to tyrants 
is obedience to God I" 

General Warren's speech resounds with the clash of 
arms, and is imbued with a high spirit of chivalry and 
faith, " Brief, brave and glorious was his young ca- 
reer," and while, by the fearful emergency in which his 
country was plunged, he was compelled to tread " the 
blood-shod march of glory," he was an upright and con- 
scientious patriot, ready to receive " the deep scars of 
thundei'," and by his example to fortify the weak. 
Warren knew that " 'tis liberty lends life its soul of 
light," and he was ready to immolate himself, if thus he 
might win the boon for all mankind. 

Says Edward Everett : " Amiable, accomplished, pru- 
dent, energetic, eloquent, brave ; he united the graces 
of a manly beauty to a lion heart, a sound mind, a safe 
judgment and a firmness of purpose, which nothing 
could shake. At the period to which I allude, he was 
but just thirty-two years of age; so young, and already 
the acknowledged head of the cause ! lie had never 
seen a battle-field, but the veterans of Louisburg and 
Quebec looked up to him as their leader ; and the hoary- 
headed sages who had guided the public councils for a 
generation, came to him for advice. Such he stood, 
the organ of the public sentiment, on the occasion just 
mentioned. At the close of his impassioned address, 



Ifift OKA'l'oH!^ Ol' ■nil', AIMKIUCAN UKVOI,UTION. 

niter luiviii'L!; dcpicliMi llic labors, liardsliijts niul sacrifices 
endured liy our aneest(M-s. iu the cause of liberty, he 
broke loilli in the tluillinii; words, "the voice ol" our la- 
thers" blood cries t<> us Iroui the i^round !" Three years 
only passed away; the solemn struiri^le came on ; tore- 
most in council, he also was foremost in the battle-field, 
and ollered hims(M-f a voluntary victim, the first great 
martyr in the cause. U}k>u the liciglits of Charlcstown, 
the last that was struck down, he reil, with a numerous 
liand ol" kindred spirits, the orMv-haired veteran, the 
stri])ling in the flower of youth, who had stood side by 
side through that dreadful day, and fell together, like the 
beauty of Israel, on their high ]>laces !"' 

VVarnMi was eminenllv chivalrous and brave. Like 
Louis XII. at Aignadel, lie would exclaim to the timid: 
" Let those who have fear, secrete themselves behind 
me." ()r like thc^ bold and generous (^oiidc, he would 
animate his countrymen in the darkest hour with the 
cheerful cry, " Follow my white plume, you shall re- 
cognize it alwavs on tlu^ road to victory." 

In speech, as in action, he ^\'a.s sagacious and ener- 
getic. His W(Mcls teem with the sulphurous breath of 
war, and are lurid with ])ati-iotic indignation, as if 
coined at the cannon's mouth. lie seized his victim, as 
a vulture grasps a serpent in his talons, nud bearing him 
aloft in triumph, tore him in fearless strength and scat- 
tered the 1'ragments to the winds. But this was the rage 
]M-odueed by i"oreign aggression, and not the blind fury 
of mad ambition. Herein was "S^'^arren, like Washing- 
ton, greater and nobler than Napoleon : 



JOSEPH WARREN. 169 

" The mighty heart that battled for the empire of the world, 
And all but won, yet perisli'd in the strife!" 

Warren was a powerful orator, because he was a true 
man, and struggled for man's highest rights. Eloquence 
and liberty are tlje inseparable offspring of the same 
mother, nursed at the same breast; two beams from the 
same sun ; two chords of the same harp ; two arrows 
from the same quiver; two thunderbolts twin-born in 
heaven, and most glorious in their conflicts and con- 
quests on the earth. 

" 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower 
Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume, 
And we are weeds without it. AH constraint, 
Except what wisdom lays on evil men, 
Is evil ; hurts the faculties, impedes 
Their progress in the road of science; blinds 
The eyesight of Discovery; and begets 
In those that suffer it a sordid mind, 
Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit 
To be the tenant of man's noble form." 



CHAPTER VII. 
JOHN ADAMS, .. 

ORATOR OF BLENDED ENTHUSIASM AND SOBRIETY. 

John Adams was born at Quincy, then part of the old 
town of Braintree, October 19rh, 1735. He was of Pu- 
ritanic descent, his ancestors having early emigrated 
from England, and settled in Massachusetts. He was 
early noted for studious habits, and was placed under 
the classical tuition of Mr. Marsh, who was also the 
teacher of Josiah Quincy, Jr. Having been admitted 
to Harv^ard College, in 1751, Mr. Adams was graduated 
in 1755. In a class that was distinguished, he stood 
among the first. In 1758, he was admitted to the bar, 
and commenced the practice of law in his native town. 
The skill with which he conducted a criminal cause, at 
Plymouth, first gave him professional fame. His busi- 
ness increased with his reputation and ability until 1766, 
when he removed to Boston where he could enjoy a 
wider scope for his talents. In 1770, he had the bold- 
ness to undertake the defence of the British officers and 
soldiers, on account of the memorable massacre of the 
5th of March. The result reflected honor upon himfielf 
and upon the jury who, in the midst of great exaspera- 



JOHN ADAMS. 171 

tion, dared to be just in maintaining the supremacy of 
law. 

In 1776, Mr. Adams was appointed Chief Justice of 
Massachusetts, but yielding to the ruling passion of his 
ardent and patriotic nature, he devoted himself almost 
entirely to politics. The impressions early made on his 
mind by James Otis in the famous argument against 
Writs of Assistance, seem to have given tone and direc- 
tion to his whole subsequent career. Before twenty 
years of age he predicted a vast increase of population 
in the Colonies, anticipated their naval distinction, and 
foretold that all Europe combined, could not subdue 
them. His thoughts were eaiiy and sagaciously occu- 
pied on these topics. On the 12th of October, 1755, he 
wrote from Worcester as follows : 

"Soon after the Reformation, a few people came over 
into this new world, for conscience sake. Perhaps this 
apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of 
empire into America. It looks likely to me; for, if we 
can remove the turbulent Gallics, our people, according 
to the exactest computations, will, in another century, 
become more numerous than England itself Should 
this be the case, since we have, I may say, all the naval 
stores of the nation in our hands, it will be easy to ob- 
tain a mastery of the seas ; and then the united force of 
all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way 
to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us. 

" Be not surprised that I am turned politician. This 
whole town is immersed in politics. The interests of 
nations, and all the dira of war, make the subject of 
every conversation, I sit and hear, and after havinf^ 



172 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

been led through a maze of sage observations, I some- 
times retire, and laying things together, form some re- 
flections pleasing to myself. The produce of one of 
these reveries you have read above." 

It has been said that " the true test of a great man — 
that at least which must secure his place among the 
higher order of great men — is his having been in ad- 
vance of his age. This it is which decides whether or 
not he has carried forward the great plan of human im- 
provement ; has conformed his views and adapted his 
conduct to the existing circumstances of society, or 
changed those so as to better its condition; has been 
one of the lights of the world, or onl}' reflected the bor- 
rowed rays of former luminaries, and sat in the same 
shade with the rest of his generation at the same twilight 
or tlve same dawn." 

Tried by this test, it must be acknowledged that the 
author of the above letter was among the wisest and 
most provident seers of his day. 

In 17G5, Mr. Adams appeared before the public as an 
author, in a work on the Canon and Feudal Law. 

" The object of this work was to show that our New 
England ancestors, in consenting to exile themselves 
from their native land, were actuated, mainly, by the 
desire of delivering themselves from the power of the 
hierarchy, and from the monarchical and aristocratical 
political systems of the other continent; and to make 
this truth bear, with effect, on the politics of the times. 
Its tone is uncommonly bold and animated, for that 
period. He calls on the people, not only to defend, but 
to studv and understand their rights and privileges; 



JOHN ADAMS. 173 

urges earnestly the necessity of diffusing general know- 
ledge, invokes tlie clergy and the bar, the colleges and 
academies, and all others who have the ability and the 
means, to expose the insidious designs of arbitrary power, 
to resist its approaches, and to be persuaded that there 
is a settled design on foot to enslave all America. 'Be 
it remembered,' says the author, 'that liberty must, at 
all hazards, be supported. We have a right to it, de- 
rived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers 
have earned it, and bought it for us, at the expense of 
their ease, their estate, their pleasure and their blood. 
And liberty cannot be preserved without a general 
knowledge among the people, who have a riglit, from the 
frame of their nature, to knowledge, as their great Crea- 
tor who does nothing in vain, has given them under- 
standings, and a desire to know ; but besides this, they 
have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible 
right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, 
I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers. 
Rulers are no more than attorneys, agents, and trustees 
of the people; and if the cause, the interest and trust, is 
insidiously betrayed, or wantonly trifled away, the peo- 
ple have a right to revoke the authority, that they them- 
selves have deputed, and to constitute other and better 
agents, attorneys and trustees.' " 

In 1770, Mr. Adams was elected to the legislature by 
the citizens of Boston. He took a deep interest in the 
conflict with England, for which zeal he was especially 
contemned by Governors Hutchinson and Gage. 

By this time, impending dangers had so multiplied 
that the united counsel of all patriots was demanded. 



174 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

A general Congress of delegates, to consider the affairs 
of the Colonies, having been decided upon, the legisla- 
ture, on the 17th of June, 1774, elected James Bowdoin, 
Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and 
Robert Treat Paine, delegates from Massachusetts. 
The four last-named persons accepted their appoint- 
ments, and took their seats in Congress, the first day of 
its session, September 5th, 1774, in Philadelphia. In 
this office Mr. Adams remained, till November, 1777, 
when he was appointed Minister to France. The year 
following, he was appointed Commissioner to treat of 
peace with England. Returning to the United States, 
he was a delegate from Braintree in the convention 
which framed the constitution of Massachusetts, in 1780. 
During the eight succeeding years, he was employed in 
the diplomatic service of the country, and resided at the 
various courts of Europe. In 1782 he concluded our 
first treaty with Holland. At a later period, he had the 
satisfaction of seeing the Minister Plenipotentiary of the 
Crown of England subscribe to the instrument which 
declared that his "Britannic Majesty acknowledged the 
United States to be free, sovereign, and independent." 
Returning to his beloved country in 1788, he was 
elected the first Vice President, a position which he 
occupied eight years, when he was raised to the Presi- 
dential chair, as immediate successor to the immortal 
Washington. 

Leaving the illustrious subject of this sketch for a 
while in the most exalted political station man can ever 
hope to attain, let us attempt to analyze his character 
and describe his person. 



JOHN ADAMS. 175 

Mr. Adams' individuality as a man and citizen, was 
strongly marked. We take him to have been the best 
specimen our early history aflbrds of sobriety and en- 
thusiasm hajipily combined and wisely employed in 
promoting the public good. As a patriot he was firm, 
sagacious and persevering. 

His firmness was indicated by the position he as- 
sumed as early as 1774, when, in company with three 
others named above, he was chosen by the Colony of 
Massachusetts, to represent them in the first Continental 
Congress. His frierxd, Seuall, who had taken the min- 
isterial side in politics, and was at that time attorney-gen- 
eral of the })rovince, hearing of his election, endeavored 
earnestly to dissuade him from his purpose of assuming 
the seat to which he had been appointed. He told him 
of the resolution of Great Britain to pursue her system 
with the greatest rigor; that her power was irresistible, 
and would involve him in destruction, as well as all his 
associates. His response unfolds at once the dignity of 
his resolutions on contemplating this great and daring 
national movement. 

"I know that Great Britain has determined on her 
system, and that very determination determines me on 
mine. You know that I have been constant and uni- 
form in opposition to her designs. Sink or swim, live 
or die, survive or perish, with my country, is my fixed, 
vuialterable determination." 

Tha.t this firmness was based on patriotic principle 
and inspired by it, is further indicated by what he said 
in a letter to his wife under circumstances of great pub- 
lic distress. He had heard of the attack made by the 



176 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

British on Boston, of the dismay and ruin consequent 
thereon, but being not in the least daunted in his pur- 
pose, he wrote as follows : 

■' Philadelphia, 20th September, 1774. 

" I am anxious to know how you can live without 
government. But the experiment must be tried. The 
evils will not be found so dreadful as you apprehend 
them. Frugality, my dear, frugality, economy, par- 
simony, must be our refuge. I hope the ladies are 
every day diminishing their ornaments, and the gentle- 
men, too. Let us eat potatoes and drink water. Let 
us wear canvas and undressed sheepskins, rather than 
submit to the unrighteous and ignominious domination 
that is prepared for us." 

But Mr. Adams was a sagacious prophet in political 
matters, as well as a firm patriot. The celebrated let- 
ters of the 3d of July, 1776, abundantly prove this. A 
great living statesman has treated these letters in such 
a splendid manner in his eulogium on their author, that 
to quote them in their original shape, may indeed seem to 
destroy much of their effect. But we wish to contem- 
plate the character of Mr. Adams through a medium of 
his own making; and shall here introduce the prophecy 
as he recorded it, in order to substantiate the position 
we have assumed. 

" Yesterday, the greatest question was decided, which 
ever was debated in America, and a greater, perhaps, 
never was nor will be decided among men. A resolu- 
tion was passed without one dissenting Colony, "that 
these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free 



JOHN ADAMS. 177 

and independent States, and as such they have and of 

right out to have, full power to make war, conclude 

peace, establish commerce and to do all other acts and 

things which other States may rightfully do." You will 

see, in a few days, a Declaration, setting forth the causes 

which have impelled us to this mighty Revolution, and 

the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God and 
man. 

"When I look back to the year 1761, and recollect 
the arguments concerning Writs of Assistance in the 
Superior Court, which I have hitherto considered as the 
commencement of this controversy between Great 
Britain and America, and run through the whole period, 
from that time to this, and recollect the series of politi- 
cal events, the chain of causes and effects, I am sur- 
prised at the suddenness as well as greatness of this 
Revolution. Britain has been filled with folly, and Ame- 
rica with wisdom ; at least, this is my judgment. Time 
must determine. It is the will of heaven that the two 
countries should be sundered for ever. It may be the 
will of heaven that America shall suffer calamities still 
more wasting, and distresses yet more dreadful. If this 
is to be the case, it will have this good effect at least. It 
will inspire us with many virtues, which we have not, 
and correct many errors, follies and vices which threaten 
to disturb, dishonor and destroy us. The furnace of 
affliction produces refinement in States as well as indi- 
viduals." 

Then, speaking of the day on which the Declaration 
of Ind^6ndence passed, he foretold that it would " be 
the most memorable epocha in the history of America. 
8* 



178 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeed- 
ing generations as the great anniversary festival. It 
ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, 
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought 
to be solemnized w^ith pomp and parade, with shows, 
games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, 
from one end of this continent to the other, from this 
time forward, forevermore. 

"You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but 
I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood, and 
treasure, that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, 
and support and defend these States. Yet, through all 
the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and 
glory. I can see that the end is more than w^orth all 
the means ; and that posterity will triumph in that day's 
transaction, even although w^e should rue it, which I 
trust in God we shall not." 

We have said that Mr. Adams was firm, and that he 
was sagacious ; we remark, thirdly, that he was ardent 
and energetic. His feelings were quick, and fully en- 
listed in the defence of his country ; anything that re- 
flected on her welfare was sure to arouse his indigna- 
tion. Writing to his wife, he presents several instances 
in which his enthusiastic patriotism involved him in tem- 
porary confusion, such as on the following occasion, 
described in a letter, dated, 

" Falmouth, dih July, 1774. 

" At another time, Judge Trowbridge said, ' It seems 
by Col. Barre's speeches, that Mr. Otis has. acquired 
honor by releasing his damages to Robinson.' ' Yes,' 
says I, 'he has acquired honor with all generations.' 



JOIIlNf ADAMS. 179 

Trowbridge—* lie did not make much profit, I think.' 
Adams — 'True, but the less profit, the more honor. He 
was a man of honor and generosity, and those who think 
he was mistaken, will pity him.' 

" Thus you see how foolish I am. I cannot avoid 
exposing myself before these high folks; my feelings 
will at times overcome my modesty and reserve, my 
prudence, policy and discretion. I have a zeal at my 
heart for my country and her friends, which I cannot 
smother or conceal ; it will burn out at times and in 
companies, where it ought to be latent in my breast. 
This zeal will prove fatal to the fortune and felicity of 
my family, if it is not regulated by a cooler judgment 
than mine has hitherto been. Colonel Otis' phrase is, 
* The zeal-pot boils over.' " 

In all his public career, in perils the most imminent, 
and before foes the most mighty, Mr. Adams seems to 
have resolved on maintaining his position at any risk, 
and, with this intent, to have ever sternly declared, 

" Let them pull all about mine ears ; present me 
Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels; 
Or pile ten hills on the Tarpean rock, 
That the precipitation might down stretch 
Below the beam of sight, yet will I still 
Be thus to them." 

The CO ilition in Mr. Adams, of the three great attri- 
butes named above, — firmness, sagacity and fervor, — 
rendered him powerful in action and speech. Sound 
and substantial intellect must ever constitute the basis 
of true eloquence. It is this only that can sway the 
intellectual faculties of mankind, and take captive tho 



180 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

judgment. In its deepest pathos and most impassioned 
appeals, this element must still predominate, or convic- 
tion that is enduring cannot be produced. Emotion is 
essential to deepen impressions and incite to action ; 
but in the most tumultuous agitations of both head and 
heart, the sovereignty of reason must be maintained, or 
the momentum derived from passion will only accelerate 
its victim to speedier disgrace and ruin. The great de- 
sideratum is, not to rely on intellect only, nor on feeling 
only, but appropriately to blend the two ; and thus by a 
natural and almost omnipotent process to grasp and 
control with spontaneous domination the feelings and 
understandings of men. The language of superior elo- 
quence is nothing else than the enunciation of mind the 
most indomitable, earnest, and free ; and the highest 
power that the human spirit can possibly know may be 
thus expressed, since thought the most vast and compre- 
hensive, as well as affection the most intense and inex- 
tinguishable, have their adequate expression in the ver- 
nacular of man, and, when honestly expressed, are 
instantly recognized and responded to by all mankind. 

But this happy union of enthusiasm and sobriety 
is exceedingly rare, even in the first rank of orators. 
Sir James Mackintosh said that Fox was a speaker, 
" the most Demosthenian since Demosthenes," because 
he was supposed to combine in his mental structure much 
of that reason, simplicity and vehemence, which formed 
the prince of ancient speakers. Others have insisted 
that the younger Pitt was endowed with a certain severe 
and majestic earnestness, a calm and self-balanced 
energy, which rendered him even more like the mighty 



JOHN ADAMS. 181 

Grecian than was the great parhamentary rival before 
named. Both these renowned Enghshmen were cer- 
tainly well qualified to debate great questions and sway 
the destinies of empires, but they were not orators of 
the most imperial power. Pitt especially failed in the 
poetic part of popular discourse, and Fox did not habit- 
ually manifest those splendors of imagination which 
constitute the most ethereal component of pure elo- 
quence. One may be fertile in argument, and prolific 
in illustration, — memory may contribute innumerable 
facts, and invention may cunningly display vast re- 
sources of learned lore, — and yet, unless the speaker 
breathes a higher inspiration, the " third heaven" is 
never reached by his fancy, nor are intelligent crowds 
entranced by his tones. Such auxiliaries are like the 
wings of an ostrich, a profusion of showy but nerveless 
feathers which assist in running along the earth, but 
which are utterly unable to bear their cumbrous pos- 
sessor in sublime flight to the skies. Where enthusiasm 
does not melt into reason and adorn its strength, a pro- 
saic tameness is sure to characterize the printed page or 
spoken debate. 

John Adams was sometimes impetuous but rarely dull. 
Wlien matters of great moment were at stake, he rose 
with a natural grandeur to a level with the emergency, 
and became master of the most violent storm. It was 
then that the mens divinior, tiie unquenchable flame of 
eloquence, seemed to expand his person and invest him 
with almost superhuman force. In such spontaneous 
bursts, as Jefterson declared, he raised his hearers from 
their seats. Swelling sympathy, irrepressible admira- 



182 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

tion and patriotic determinations, the most resolute and 
profound, filled every bosom and made sworn brothers 
of all. His speech was indomitable, because it was the 
inspiration at once of head and heart, the organs of a 
great soul fn-ed with comprehensive and disinterested 
designs. He was luminous on the surface, because 
there was a perpetual and pure splendor within ; he was 
capable of a high polish, and endured without injury the 
severest shocks, because the substance of his eloquent 
nature was adamant of the finest and firmest grain. 

" He on whose name each distant age shall gaze, 
The mighty sea-mark of those troubled days ! 
He, grand of soul, of genius unconfined, 
Born to delight, instruct, and mend mankind ; 
Adams ! in whom a Roman ardor glow'd. 
Whose copious tongue with Grecian richness flow'd." 

was the impersonation of fervid eloquence standing on 
the pedestal of solid judgment. 

As was said above, it is seldom that we meet with 
great depth and acuteness in the same person ; but in 
every such coalition, the result is genius. It is ever 
observant and meditative; even while it seems to be 
in repose, it is in fact advancing by some secret path to 
great results. This is a power which cannot be alto- 
gether restrained. It is a vehement force, as irresistible 
to the mind of its possessor as it is potent on others ; it 
stimulates all contiguous faculties and insures success 
by the enthusiasm which always accompanies strong 
passions. 

Genius is the constructive taculty of the mind, it is 
to accumulated erudition, and men of talents, merely, 



JOHN ADAMS. 183 

what a skillful architect is to a mass of buildinor mate- 
rials lying inert before a body of plodding mechanics. 

Oratorical genius has two organs of vision, observa- 
tion and imagination. This double look, always fixed 
on nature and humanity, is the inlet of that inspiration 
peculiar to the gifted, and which adorns every thing 
excellent in the department of eloquence and art. It 
neither distorts nor falsifies the natural tone and quali- 
ties of the materials it employs, but simply does the 
work of a wise lapidary who brings out many a hidden 
vein and beauteous tint, thus raising to the rank and 
value of gems what had often been discarded by the 
unobservant traveller in the dusty highway of life. 

Every masterly production of the mind is an aggre- 
gate of the sobriety and enthusiasm we have described ; 
it is the result of two intellectual phenomena, meditation 
and enthusiasm. Meditation is a faculty mainly ac- 
quired ; inspiration is a special and invaluable gift. 
All men, to a certain degree, can meditate ; but very 
few are inspired. Meditation alone never wrote an Iliad, 
nor drove back Xerxes ; it never could break the 
slumber of centuries, nor reform the world. In medita- 
tion, the spirit of man acts ; in inspiration, it obevs ; in 
the first instance, the influence that impels is native 
to man ; in the other, it originates in a higher region, 
and imparts to meditation its greatest force. It is the 
amalgamation of these two faculties, meditation and 
inspiration intimately allied, that constitutes the true 
orator. He wins inspiration through meditation, as the 
ancient prophets arose to extacy on the wings of prayer. 
In order that divine scenes may stand revealed to his 



184 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

gaze, it is necessary that he sliould in a manner disrobe 
himself of material existence, and in calm silence gather 
up the loins of his mind. Thus isolated from the exterior 
life, he enjoys a })lenteous develoj)ment of the life inter- 
nal ; in the same proportion as the material world is 
withdrawn, the world of ideal beauty stands revealed. 
Holy and eloquent thought cannot spread its pinions 
and sublimely soar until it has laid off the gross burdens 
of earth. No healthtul inspiration comes to the soul 
cxce})t as preceded by devout meditation. Among the 
ancient Jews, a people whose history is full of instructive 
symbols, when the priest had built an altar he kindled 
thereon terrestrial ilames, and it was then only that 
divine rays descended from heaven. 

They who most relish the ideal, and have the greatest 
facility in creating it, ever most enjoy the real. The 
refined artist, for instance, when abroad in the rough 
thoroughfares of life, will closely observe every changing 
aspect around him, and from the social confusion will 
elicit many a grace. In the street, on the strand, in 
the hovel, and under gilded domes, he culls with uniform 
skill and wnth equal success, everywhere gathering 
hints for his pencil and choice honey for the hive of his 
thoughts. In the rank mire of worldly strife, Dante 
and IVIilton selected pearls for the wreath of song; and 
Raphael Ibund among dancing rustics and romping 
children the germs of many of his most magnificent 
creations. Look at Shakspeare's wonderful impersona- 
tions, and see how the actual and the ideal are closely 
conjoined. If at one moment he whirls you on high, 
and malies you dizzy and lonely in your sublime eleva- 



JOSEPH WARREN. 185 

tion, the next moment he opens a vista to earth again, 
and entrances the heart with feehngs of home. A true 
man, one born to command the confidence and admira- 
tion of others through the medium of eloquent senti- 
ments, is perpetually refreshed and invigorated by the 
inexhaustible resources which he seeks and enjoys in 
the play-grounds of the world. He is exhilarated by 
the streams that intersect the popular heart, just as by 
the mysterious attraction of nature the highest moun- 
tains draw up, tin-ough a thousand hidden tubes, the 
waters that thunder in the cataract and sparkle in 
beauty along the flowery plains. 

This blending of enthusiasm with sobriety is the most 
prominent trait in the highest order of minds. Eccen- 
tricity is by no means a necessary concomitant of 
genius. Bacon, Milton, Newton, Locke, Bowditch, 
were the greatest geniuses and most sober men of their 
day. Genius is never more potent and useful than 
when chastened and restrained by reason, like the 
impetuous courser, Bucephalus, curbed and directed by 
the hand of Alexander. Men of the highest stamp 
unite in themselves the conformations of many subordi- 
nate grades ; they who stand at the summit of the 
social pyramid are the exponents of the unbounded 
sentiments and passions which slumber in the masses 
beneath. Such was the natural position and rare 
endowments of John Adams. He was one of those 
energetic and audacious spirits who seem to be born 
expressly to revolutionize the world. They appear on 
the public stage robed and crowned with 



186 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

" Triitlis serene, 
Matle visible in beauty, that shall glow 
In everlasting fieshiu-ss, unapproached 
By mortal passion ; pure amidst the blood 
And dust of conquests ; — never waxing old, 
But on the stream: of time, from age to age, 
Casting bright images of heavenly youth." 

We ought to expect that eloquence the most exalted 
would spontaneously emanate from such a soul. The 
orator, grand by nature, like the eagle, hovers above the 
clouds in the pure region of principles ; while the mere 
haranguer. the demagogue, ruled by time-serving expe- 
diency, like the swallow, skims earth and sea, garden 
and swamp, making a thousand erratic turns, catching 
a few grovelling insects, and annoying the thoughtful 
traveller with its clattering wings. John Adams was 
the eagle of Colonial and Revolutionary eloquence in 
America, quick of eye and strong of wing, habitually 
calm in his gra'ndeur, sometimes passionate and rapid in 
his course beyond all example. 

He was an admirable model of blended enthusiasm 
and sobriety; this constituted his individuality as a 
popular orator, and his consummate excellence as a 
statesman. 

The marriage of the powerful Jupiter with the lovely 
Latona produced the graceful symmetry of Apollo — the 
happy combination of beauty, precision, agility, and 
strength— and these were the elements that composed 
the mental character of our great countryman. He 
resembled two of England's greatest forensic gladiators. 
Fox was a logician, Lord Chatham an orator. John 



JOHN ADAMS. 187 

Adams combined in his eloquence much* of the severe 
reason of the one, and the power of fascination so exu- 
berant in the other. Arguments set forth by Fox were 
adapted to convince the reflecting; a speech from 
Chatham would impel all hearers immediately to action. 
John Adams was happily endowed to accomplish both 
results at the same time ; his reasons for acting were as 
luminous as his appeals were exciting. Like the courser 
described by the classic poet : 

" His high mettle, under good control, 
Gave him Olympic speed, and shot him to the goal." 

To think deeply and feel strongly, at one and 
the same time — to blend thought and emotion in 
luminous expression, and to concentrate both simulta- 
neously on the audience in one blaze of argument and 
illustration — this is the means and guaranty of success, 
this is eloquence. 

Herein consisted John Adams' great excellence. His 
head was cool, but his heart was ardent — a volcano 
beneath summits of snow — he projected his argument 
frigidly, in premeditated compactness, as if the fountain 
of emotion was entirely congealed iu him; but when he 
arose in the eye of the nation, and began to feel the 
importance of his theme, he became lucid with the fires 
of patriotism, like the frenzied Pythoness, and seized 
possession of the general mind, with the authority of a 
master and a king. He clothed the bony substance of 
his dialectics with the flesh and blood of his ardent and 
spontaneous rhetoric ; he kindled the Continental Con- 
gress into a flame, because he was himself inflamed. 



188 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

He precipitated himself upon his hearers, without wan- 
dering in extravagance, and commanded their feehngs 
with liis patlios, without ceasing to rule their judgments 
by the justness of his thought. Sometimes, indeed, he 
seemed to stagger under the weight and pungency of 
conceptions which language could not express : 

"Low'ring he stood, still in fierce act of speech, 
Yet speechless." 

His great talent lay in this : he intuitively saw to 
what point in the minds of his audience to apply his 
strength, and he sent it home there with the force of a 
giant. 

Mr. .Tcflerson has himself affirmed, " that the great 
pillar of support to the Declaration of Independence, 
and its ablest advocate and champion on the floor of 
the House, was John Adams, He was the colossus of 
that Congress ; not always fluent in his public addresses, 
he yet came out with a power, both of thought and 
expression, which moved his hearers from their seats." 

Let us look back a moment and consider how the 
great orators of the Revolution were disciplined, and 
perfected for the sublime mission they performed. They 
were highly educated and classically refined ; but their 
best weapons were forged in the presence of tyrants and 
desperate toils. Eloquence, to be affecting and grand, 
must have perils to brave, the unfortunate to defend, 
and daring honors to win. Great trials and fearful con- 
flicts make great orators. The grammarians and the 
musicians, the men who cured stammering, and taught 
their pupil to pronounce the letter R distinctly, aided the 



JOHN ADAMS. 189 

great Athenian much undoubtedly, but they created no 
nerve ot' his eloquence. Neither did iiis shaved head, 
iiis cave, his mouthiul of pebbles, and his declamation 
by the sounding sea, inspire the imperial orator who ful- 
mined over the world like a tropical storm. The mighty 
tempest of military force and political domination low- 
ering on the hills of Macedon, and crashing on the 
plains of Chan'onea — the fiery furnace of mental con- 
flict, where the aspiring spirit is its own best instructor 
— the dread arena of physical battle with adverse 
legions, and lofty mental strife with malignant foes 
leagued to impel a falling state to ruin, — this was the 
school where Demosthenes was trained, and these were 
the means by which his eloquence was won. 

And so of Cicero. Archias with his elegant learning, 
and Philo with iiis elaborate rhetoric, — the groves of 
Athens with all their philosophy, and the school of the 
Rhodian Milo, with all its gymnastic development, — 
formed not the master orator, potent alike in the fasti- 
dious Senate, or amid the tumultuous masses of that 
gorgeous pandemonium of imperial Rome, — the Forum. 
But to be the sport of rival chiefs and remorseless fac- 
tions, hailed with a torrent of acclamations at one mo- 
ment, and at the next drowned in the execrations of 
armed throngs, — to fight his way from the obscurity of 
an humble plebeian to the highest pinnacle of fame, and 
thence to be rudely dragged down to banishment, pov- 
erty, and popular odium by the traitorous Catiline and 
the accursed Clodius, — this was the source that inspired 
the Philippics, this was the school of Cicero's eloquence. 

This flrst indication of mental freedom at the begin- 



190 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ning of the French Revohition, and the most remark- 
able department of intellectual ini})rovenient, was elo- 
quence. The sudden expansion of senatorial oratory, 
at that period, was a sure prognostic of rising liberty. 
If a Barnave and liis associates were virulent in their 
attacks, and excited the iwpulace to frenzy by their 
stormy declamations, it was because the wrongs they 
suflered were exasperating, and nothing but a tornado 
could clear their path. JMirabeau was roused by seven- 
teen leitres de cachet, directed against his own person ; 
and under such motives to action he defended popular 
rights with an energy that crushed a throne. 

The discipline and destiny of an oratoi-ical soul is 
much like that emblem of freedom, the eagle. Dwelling 
in the solitude of mountains, it seeks the highest sum- 
mit, where with proud cry it hails the advent of morn, 
and with eyes flashing fire outdazzles the sun. Its nest 
is not lined with down nor encompassed with flowers; 
but on some craggy height, where the thunderbolt has 
scooped a hollow, the eaglet breathes his natal air, and 
perpetually augments his strength, tossed by tempests 
between gulfs below and sombre skies on high. He 
hears the avalanche shoot and the thunders crash ; but 
untcrrified by the celestial flames that fringe the clouds 
around him, and unexhausted by protracted toil, he 
shakes rain and snow away, nourishes his famished 
heart with fortitude, and turning a triumphant glance 
towards receding storms, spreads his mighty wings and 
sails in triumph through heavens purified by the war of 
elements he has braved. 

Effects are often mistaken for causes. Accidents 



JOHN ADAMS. 191 

may sometimes develope great orators, but accidents 
never create them. Their high endowments come 
direct from God ; their best discipline is occasioned by 
the injustice of their fellow men. Philip, it has been 
said, formed Demosthenes. The dangers which he oc- 
casioned, developed the latent powers of the eloquent 
patriot. For example, look at the circumstances under 
which he delivered the great speech that brought about 
the alliance between Thebes and Athens, and led to the 
fatal battle of Cheronora. He had warned his country- 
men against Philip, but the tories of that day calmed 
the popular excitement. At length, late one evening, 
news arrived that Philip had seized Elatea, the key of 
Phocis and Bocotia, and might soon be expected before 
the walls of Athens. On the morrow, at dawn of day, 
the Senate met, and the people crowded into the assem- 
bly. The Prytanes reported the news. The herald him- 
self was produced and made to recite from his own lips. 
Then the crier called aloud to the assembly, " Does any 
one wish to speak ?" None answered to the call ; and 
it was repeated over and over again, until Demostlienes 
mounted the ben)a, and delivered that soul-stirring 
Pl)cech \\hich made the asscml)ly cry out, with one 
voice, '• Let us march against Philip !" It is only this 
sort of men who reveal the full splendors of their native 
majesty, " on occasions calculated to strike and agitate 
the human soul." When consternation prevails in all 
common minds, — when the brave are dumb and the 
most resolute dismayed, those choice spirits intent on 
securing the common weal, exclaim, with Patrick Henry, 
" whatever others do, Fll fight ;" and with John Adams, 



lO'i ()I{,\'1'()I!H OK 'nil', AMi;itI(\\N l!F,VOI,HTION. 

!vt llio awful crisis ofllu" vote of .hily, 177(5, " Tndopen- 
doiicc, iioic ; and I MH'.rKNDi'Nci'. iok i'.\ia! ! ' 

Tlu' follow iiiii; is a, s|H'ciiii(Mi of j\lr. Adams' style of 
tlioui:;lil and composition, whii'li we copy from nn ora- 
tion (lcli\(M'cd licloi'c I lie citizens of Jioslon, o\\ .luly Ith, 

175): J. 

" We cliei'isli, with a I'ondnc^ss which camiot l)e chill(Ml 
hv the cold, inanimate philosoph\' ot ske)>lii'ism, the 
dcli<j;htlul t'xpectation, thai the cancer of arhitrary 
power will he radically exti'acted from the human con- 
stitution ; that the sources of oppression will he drained; 
that the passions, which hav(> hitherto made tlu^ misery 
of mankind, w ill he disarmed of all their violence, and 
i;'iv(> place \o \\\v soil control of mild and aniiahle senti- 
ments, which shall nnitc in social harmony the innnnie- 
rahle vari(Mit>s ol" tlu> human race. Then shall the 
lUM'velcss arm of sujierstition no longer interjioso an 
impious hairier hetween the heneficencc of heaven and 
the adoration of its votaries ; then shall the most distant 
regions of the earth he approximati'd hy the gentle at- 
traction of a liheral interconrse ; then shall the fair 
iahric of nniversal liherty rise upon the durahle Ibiuula- 
tioii ot" social eipialily, and the long expected era. ot 
human felicity, which has heen announced hy pi-oj)hetic 
inspiration, and descrihed in the most enraptured lan- 
guage of tlu* muses, shall comnuMice its splendid pro- 
cress. Visions of bliss ! with everv hreath to heaven 
we speed the ejaculalit»n, that the time may hasten, 
when vour reality shall be no longer the ground of vo- 
tive supplication, hut tlu> theme of gratelul acknowledg- 
ment ; w hen the choral gratulations of the liberated 



JDIIN ADAMS. 198 

myriads of (lie eldcn- world, in syiny)hony, sweeter than 
the music of the spheres, shall hail ycuir country, Ameri- 
cans! as the youngest daughter of Nature, and the first- 
born oflspring of Freedom." 

It would seem that, at a period somewhat later than 
the dat(; of the ahovc, this ardent and profound votary 
of Freedom had already realized much of his early and 
most enthusiastic desires. In one of the delightful let- 
ters written in the maturity of his eventful life, he says 
— " When, where, and in what manner we shall see the 
unravelling of the vast ))lot, which is acting in the 
world, is known only to Providence. Although my 
mind has for twenty years heen preparing to expect 
great scenes, yet I confess the wonders of this Revolu- 
tion exceed all that I ever foresaw or imagined. That 
our country, so young as it is, so humble as it is, think- 
ing but lately so m(,'aidy of itself, should thus interest 
the passions, as well as employ the reason of all man- 
kind, in its favor, and eflect in so short a space of time, 
not oidy thirteen revolutions of government at home, 
but so completely accomplish a revolution in the system 
of Fiurope, and in the sentiments of every nation in it, 
is what no human wisdom, perhaps, could foresee." 

True orators are character-born, or, as Napoleon 
said, they arc victory organized. They make a distur- 
bance in the scene where they appear, because they are 
both strong and new; they will liave to encounter the 
force of love and hatred proportioned to their own origi- 
nality. A massy and fleet man-of-war makes a wake 
as it ploughs the sea ; the sixty-four pounder rakes the 
earth and shatters huge obstacles as it flies ; and so does 
9 



194 ORATOKS OF THE AMF.RICAN REVOLUTION. 

a man like John Adams make impressions that agitate 
the world around him, \lv fights the nohlest battles 
and wins the most enduring lame. 

Says Fenelon, "Demosthenes moves, warms and cap- 
tivates the heart. He was sensibly touched with the 
interests of his country. His discourses gradually in- 
crease in force, by greater light and new reasons, which 
are always illustrated by bold figures and lively images. 
One cannot but see that he has the good of the rejniblic 
entirely at heart, and that nature itself speaks in all his 
transports." Adams, we repeat, had much of the spon- 
taneous passion of this great prototype, as well as much 
of his jiremeditated wisdom. ITajijjy is he who com- 
bines in his thought tliis double power of meditation 
and ins})iration. Sooner or later, whatever may be his 
age, or rank, or preliminary suffering, his day will come; 
and then, endowed and discii)lined for his career, he will 
rise boldly above the multitude, and "read his history in 
a nation's eyes." 

John Adams, in his day and for his country, was 
second to no man that ever lived. Within his simple 
exterior the divinity was concealed, not only latent, but 
eftective at will. If he did not appear before the world 
with the insignia of Hercules, the shaggy lion's skin ami 
the knotted club, he bore a full quiver and the silver 
bow of the god of the sun, and every shaft he loosened 
from the string told with unerring aim at the heart of 
his monster-foe. 

Contemplate him as he appeared in the great debate 
on the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, 
standing, in that crisis of indescribable grandeur, like 



JOHN AltAMH. 105 

Moses on the mount, encompassed with thunders and 
hghtnings, bearing the tables oi" tlie law in bis arms, bis 
brow encircled with a lialo ol" (ire, and liis i^ye gleaming 
with a ])ro))lu;tic view of a mighty nation soon to 
emerge IVom thraldom, and send generation alUu' gene- 
ration down through untold ages. 

It was on the evening of" that day on which the most 
momcnitous victory was won that history can ever re- 
cord, that this cbani|)ion, yet agitated by the st(*rm and 
covered with the loam and dust of battle, retired in 
triumph from the Held and wrote that glorious letter to 
his distant wife, beginning with the iriemoral)le words — 
" The (be is cast. We have passed the Ilubicon!" 

Taking into account the circumstances un<ler which 
Adams inscribed the above triumphant (jxpression, and 
tlie i»atriotic val(n' therein contained, we are sli'()iigly 
reminded of an iiujidcuil recorded in classic history. 
Inunediately after the battle at Marathon, aii Athenian 
soKber, still faint with the loss of blo(jd, (ptitted the 
army, and ran to Athens to ciu'ry bis fellow (•ili/.<;ns the 
happy news of victory. Wiien he arrived at the chief 
magistrate's house, he only uttered two or three words: 
"Rejoice, rejoice, the victory is ours!" and fell down 
dead at their feet. 

As might be expected from the t(;m[)erament and 
talents we have thus atl(;mj)t(Ml to describe, the s|)eeches 
and writings of Mr. Adams abound with brief but sig- 
nificant expressions. When the mind is free and 
thought is fearless, elocjuence speaks in condensed and 
pointed terms, like arrows which are most sure when 
they are least encumbered and most swiftly winged. 



196 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

When the soul is heroic and its conceptions fervid, its 
corruscations bear the brilHant potency of Hghtning, ir- 
resistible to earthly obstructions, and terrible to guilt. 

Cotemporaries say that John Adams was peculiarly 
luminous in his demonstrations — as if jets of light shot 
out from his eyes, his mouth, and his finger ends. He 
was not large in body, but his well-formed and expres- 
sive figure reflected all the passions of his soul. He 
was eloquent all over. He was a mental gladiator, a 
man of forensic war, and never was he more beautiful 
than when surrounded by the hottest flames of the fight. 

On March 4th, 1797, Mr. Adams, then in his G2d 
year, was inaugurated President of the United States. 
A cotemporary, an intimate acquaintance of our re- 
nowned countryman, has told us that on that occasion 
he was dressed in a full suit of pearl-colored broadcloth, 
with powdered hair. He was then bald r>ii the top of 
his head. The same writer observes, "Mr. Adams was 
of middle stature, and full person ; and of slow, deliberate 
manner, unless he was excited ; and when this happen- 
ed, he expressed himself with great energy. He was a 
man of strong mind, of great learning, and of eminent 
ability to use knowledge, both in speech and writing. 
He was ever a man of purest morals ; and is said to 
have been a firm believer in Christianit3% not from habit 
and example, but from diligent investigation of its 
proofs." 

But if the morning and noon of jMr. Adams' life were 
auspicious and splendid, the evening was full of the 
moral sublime. ''Even when the brilliancy of reason's 
sunset yields to the advancing gloom, there is an inde- 



JOHN ADAMS. 197 

scribable beauty haunting the old man still, if in youth 
and vigor his soul was conversant with truth; and even 
when the chill of night is upon him, his eye seems to 
rest upon the glories for a while departed, or looks oil:' 
into the stars, and reads in them his destiny with a 
gladness as quiet and as holy as their light. When our 
little day is folded up in shadows, the darkness must be 
deep indeed which does not reveal eternity by the rays 
of light that reach us from afar ; but the soul that can 
rise above the clouds of earth, can always behold the in- 
finity of heaven, and perhaps every rightly taught man, 
before God takes him, ascends to a Pisgah of his own, 
from whence to look farewell to the wilderness he has 
passed in the leadings of Jehovah's right hand, and to 
catch a glimpse of the promised land lying in the ever- 
lasting orient before him." 

It is well known that on July 4th, 182G, this great 
man, after a useful life found a peaceful death, breathing 
a blessing on the country which he had so eminently serv- 
ed, and exclaiming to the last, ''independence forever!'* 

Justice Story, another mighty name since inscribed 
by death high in the Pantheon of American renown, in 
allusion to Mr. Adams' departure from life, well said : 
"That voice of more than Roman eloquence, which 
urged and sustained the Declaration of Independence, 
that voice, w^hose first and whose last accents were for 
his country, is indeed mute. It will never again rise in 
defence of the weak against popular excitement, and 
vindicate the majesty of law and justice. It will never 
awaken a nation to arms to assert its liberties. It will 
never again instruct the public councils by its wisdom. 



108 OKATHUS or TIIK A,Mi;i!ll\N U INVOLUTION. 

It will never Mi2;ain utlri' its most oracular thoughts in 
phiK>so|>hii'al rotireiiuMit." That great aiul pure spirit 
has dejiarted, gone as a sunbeam to revisit its native 
skies — gone, as this mortal to put' on inuliortality. 

" No'iT to tiio cluinihiTs, \\1umv llio iiiij;-lity rest, 
Since tlioir fouu(latii)ii, came a nobler guest; 
Nor ne'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed 
A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade." 



CHAPTER VJli 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 

The original chart of American Liberty was drawn 
and signed in the cabin of the Mayflower. It was a 
civil compact, based on republican ])rincii)les and sanc- 
tioned by religious failh. Such uksii asOarver, Bradford, 
Brewster, and Win^slow, blessed our nation in its cradle, 
and [)atriotic teachers of religion have ever fostered its 
growth. At an early day, the acute and subtle Cotton, 
the erudite and energetic Hooker, and their associates, 
replenished the beacon-fires of learning, i)atriotism, and 
piety along our " rock-bound coast." Not a little did 
these men of Cod conlribute to produce that state of 
things which prospectively seemed propitious, and in 
view of which they greatly rejoiced. In 1G44, Cotton 
wrote to his friends in Holland, " The order of the 
churches and the conimonwcalth is now so settled in 
N(!w I'jiigland by common consent, that it brings to 
mind the new heaven and new earth, wherein dwells 
righteousness." Hooker was an apostolic hero, whose 
eye, voice, soul, gesture, and whole form were animated 
with the vital energy of primitive zeal. He was full of 
public spirit and active charity, serenely trusting in 
Providence with " a glorious peace of soul ;" and, 



200 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

"though persecutions and banishments had awaited hini 
as one wave follows another," he adhered to the cause 
of advancing civilization without wavering, and looked 
for its. ultimate triunijih without a doubt. His cotein- 
poraries placed him "in the first rank of men," and 
praised him as " the one rich pearl, with which Europe 
more than repaid America for the treasures from her 
coast." 

But such is the selfish tendency of our corrupt nature, 
that even the best men are inclined to consolidate 
power in themselves for the fortification of their favorite 
creeds. Some of the leading Puritans early strove to 
check the democratic tendency of colonial institutions. 
On the election day, in May, 1G34, Cotton preached to 
the assembled citizens against rotation in office. But 
tlie instinctive sense of political rights in the masses 
prevailed ; the electors, now increased to three hundred 
and eighty, were bent on exercising their absolute power ; 
they reversed the decision of the pulpit, elected a new 
governor and deputy, of congenial sentiments, ami thus, 
to use their own language, "the people established a 
reformation of such things as they judged to be amiss in 
the government." The dictation of popular rights by 
aristocratic cliques was annihilated by popular discus- 
sion. " The freemen of every tow'n in the Bay were 
busy in inquiring into their liberties and privileges." 
The principle of rejiresentative democracy w^as recog- 
nized and established as perfectly two centuries ago, as 
it is to-day. 

But there were two other elements not yet clearly- 
defined and popularly enjoyed — universal sulfrage and 



TIIK PATRIOTIC PIKTY Ol'^ '76. 201 

free toleration of religious sentiments. Who shall be 
tlie herald and type of tiiese to the world ? Let the best 
of American historians present him to your judgment 
and admiration. Says Bancroft, in tlie first volume of 
his History, " Roger Williams' mind had already ma- 
tured a doctrine which secures him an immortality of 
fame, as its application has given religious p(;acc trj the 
American world, lie was a Puritan, and a fugitive 
from English persecution; but his wrongs had not 
clouded his accurate understanding ; in the capacious 
recesses of his mind lui had revolved the nature of intol- 
erance, and he, and he (done, had arrived at the great 
principle wliich is its sole eflectual remedy. lie an- 
nounced his discovery under the simple [)r()position of 
the sanctili/ of conscience. This was the great tenet, 
which, with all its consequences, he defended, as he 
first trod the shores of New England ; and in his 
extreme old age it was the last [julsalioii of his heart. 
lie was the first person in modern (Jhristendcjm to as.sert, 
in its phniitude, the doctrine of the liberiy of conscience, 
and in its defence he was the harbinger of Milton, the 
precursor and superior of Jeremy Taylor." 

Dr. Robertson, in his History of America, says, 
"Roger Williams' spirit differed from that of the Puri- 
tans of Massachusetts ; it was mild and tolerating; and 
having himself to reject established opinions, he endea- 
vored to secure the same liberty to other men, by main- 
taining that the exercise of private judgment was a 
natural and sacred right ; that the civil magistrate has 
no compulsive jurisdiction in the concerns of religion ; 
that the punishment of any person on account of his 
9* 



203 OKATORS or TIIF, AIMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

opinions was an cncrouchinent on conscience and an 
act ol" persecution. These humane principles he instilled 
into his Ibllowers ; ami all who tclt or dreaded oppression 
in other settlements, resorted to a community in which 
universal toleration was known to be a lundamental 
maxim." 

The Puritans were a noble race. As Junius said to 
the king, " They left their native land in search of free- 
dom, and found it in a desert." IJut they imported 
errorsrimd were imbued with the common imperfections 
of mankind; to correct which, Roger Williams was 
raised up by Providence, and early plnnted, with all his 
weolth of sublime principle and worth, in our inlant 
land. It is worthy of note, that the sentiments respect- 
ing toleration which he lirst proclaimed, and for which 
he was severely persecuted by his fellow refugees, are 
now the unanimtnis t^pinions of this great nation, while 
those of the Puritans, on the same subject, have been 
discarded, as false in theory and oppressive in practice, 
and are at this moment obsolete in every free section 
of the globe. The germinal princii)le of religious liberty 
which first struggled into being under that great and 
good man's fostering care, amid bleak winters and 
savage tribes, has since grown to a mighty tree, under 
which the nations are beginning to worship in peaceful 
joy. And its growth is not yet consummated, thank 
God ! 

"Millions of souls shall feel its power, 
And bear it down to millions more." 

A careful perusal of our primitive annals will induce 



TIIIC I'ATlilOTIC ri/,TY OF '70. 203 

a high a|)preciiiti()n of the patriotic piety and mutual 
sympathy between preachers and their flocks that then 
prevailed. Devoted ministers of religion, like Eliot and 
Wilson, shared in the hardships and dangers consequent 
on the early Indian wars. And when news first arrived 
in Boston of the menacing attitude assumed by Eng- 
land, prompt consultations were held for the common 
weal, and the boldest measures were projected. The 
fathers in Israel were all assembled, and " discovered 
their minds to one another."' They voted unanimously 
against suV)mission, and publicly declared, says Winthrop, 
"We ought to delend our lavv.ful |)osscssions, if we are 
able ; if not, to avoid and protract." Six hundred pounds 
were immediately raised in the poor settlements of the 
northern colony, and the fortifications were hastened by 
every kind of popular aid. The influence of the minis- 
try was patriotic and conservative, at the South as well 
as around Plymouth rock. Smith, in his history of the 
colony at Jamestown, refers to the excellent Hunt, by 
whose " good doctrine and exhortation," popular vices 
were restrained, and the welfare of all promoted to the 
utmost extent. 

The Revolutionary War was a struggle imposed on 
our fathers, not sought by them ; injustice was in their 
esteem a legitimate cause for resistance, and all willingly 
shared in the discharge of a duty which none could 
doubt. Those who led in the church, and those who 
led in the field, were impelled by one conviction and 
labored together with the same design. One taught the 
law of justice, the other defended it ; one was the voice 
of God, the other was His arm. Thus, the American 



204 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Colonies, confederated by patriotism and piety long be- 
fore they were united under a written constitution, felt 
that their I'esistance to oppression was a common cause, 
and simultaneously grasped a sword which had been 
tempered in the fires of suffering and bedewed with the 
tears of the sanctified. Then were laity and clergy 
distributed to all the posts of defence — the chamber of 
council and the field of battle, — the rural church and 
the martial camp, — and from each station of trust and 
solicitude, fervent prayer ascended to heaven for favor 
on our arms. 

Burke said : "The Americans augur niisgovernment 
at a distance, and snuff" the approach of tyranny in every 
tainted breeze." The sense here described was most 
acute in those whose faculties had been educated and 
refined in the school of the Prophets. As a hunter, 
standing armed, listens at the foot of a tree to see 
whence comes the wind, so they stood by the altars they 
were appointed to guard, and listened attentively in that 
direction whence wrong approached. Considerations 
of time, place, peril, or calling, impeded no one. Men 
of the greatest dignity, largest wealth, and most sacred 
functions did not stop to compute profit and loss : blood 
was poured out freely and poured for all. The sainted 
Robinson had magnanimously said to the voyagers in 
the Mayfiower, that he would not foreclose his mind to 
the truth of God, even if it were new. The new light 
and liberties which our fathers had here learned to 
enjoy, were deemed of too much value to be lightly sur- 
rendered to injustice or the miserable expediency of 
false mercy. Conscience was their only compensation 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 205 

on earth, and God on high. Hands consecrated to sa- 
cred service, breaking the bread of Hfe and soothing 
penitential sorrow, from the pulpit scattered profusely in 
moral and martial tempests, seeds of palriotic piety 
whose glorious harvests the whole world is yet destined 
to reap in peace. 

Prominent among the religious patriots who preceded 
the Revolution, was the old President of Yale College, 
Doctor Ezra Stiles. He was small in stature, but of 
vast learning, undoubted piety and fervid patriotism. 
On the occasion of the death of George 11. and the ac- 
cession of George III., he preached a sermon, in which 
he admonished the latter against suffering any retrench- 
ment of the liberties of New England. In his history 
of the three judges of Charles I., (Whalley, Goffe and 
Dixwell,) published long before our Revolution, he an- 
nounced that the 30th of January, which was observed 
by many Christians, in commemoration of the martyr- 
dom of that king, "ought to be celebrated as an anni- 
versary thanksgiving, that one nation on earth had so 
much fortitude and public justice, as to make a royal 
tyrant how to the sovereignty of the peojjle." Let it be 
added here, that another distinguished President of that 
ancient seat of letters and religion, Doctor Timollnj 
DwigJit, served with becoming zeal in the councils of 
his country, and as a chaplain in her army. 

Indeed, patriotism was a trait common to the great 
majority of our clergy, both before and during the Re- 
volution. They sided with their country in all the dis- 
putes with Great Britain,' — they prayed and preached in 
favor of Independence, and in several instances went so 



206 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

far as personally to take up arms. Jonathan Mahew, 
tiie famous leader of the Episcopal controversy, to whom 
Archbishop Seeker and Dr. Johnson replied, was not 
only an ecclesiastic of great literary accomplishments, 
but a republican af the boldest port. On every hand, 
intelligent and patriotic pastors contributed i>owerfuliy 
to prepare the people for prompt and persevering resist- 
ance against every encroachment on their rights. 

Rev. Samtiel Davies, for some time a pastor in Vir- 
ginia, and afterwards President of Nassau Hall, deserves 
especial notice. He was born in Delaware, Nov. 3d, 
1724, and received his education in Pennsylvania. His 
grand characteristic, as a patriot and preacher, was 
boldness. This is a valuable attribute in every public 
agent. The great Lord Verulam declared, that " if he 
were asked what is the first, second, and third thing ne- 
cessary for success in business, he should answer, bold- 
ness, boldness, boldness." Timid and effeminate efforts 
in the pulpit are as inefficient and more destructive than 
elsewhere. The stupid soul is startled into attention 
only by bold blows. Ministers may describe for ever the 
beauties of nature, the pleasures of virtue, the dignity 
of self-respect and the vulgarity of vice, but until more 
exalted motives are urged, and more potent infiuences 
are employed, few effects \vill follow that arc either 
great or good. 

Davies was the ablest Dissenter in the southern pro- 
vinces. His custom was to study his discourses with 
great care. Being pressed to preach on a certain occa- 
sion without his usual pi-eparation, he replied : " It is a 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 207 

dreadful thing to talk nonsense in the name of the 
Lord." 

But he was as prompt and fearless in any sudden 
emergency, as he was habitually deliberate and studious. 
Thanks to the movements in behalf of religious liberty 
made at the North, England granted the Toleration Act 
in favor of all the Colonies. Virginia, however, ruled 
by her Episcopal establishment, refused to admit that the 
Dissenters of their territory were included. Davies 
withstood all their forces alone, with Peyton Randolph 
at their head. He had made himself a thorough master of 
English law, civil and ecclesiastical, and always chose to 
meet every persecuting indictment in the highest courts 
with his own plea. So powerful was he in the capacity 
which the law of necessity compelled him to assume, 
that many of his friends, and even his foes vrere wont to 
exclaim, "What a lawyer was spoiled when Davies took 
the pulpit!" Spoiled, forsooth! A§ if the pulpil, with 
all its themes of eternal interest, was not the sublimest 
field for the development and exercise of eloquence ever 
vouchsafed to man. 

Not satisfied with establishing his religious rights at 
the bar of colonial power, he went to England and ob- 
tained the ex{)licit sanction of the highest authority 
with respect to the extension of the Toleration law to 
Virginia. It was during This mission that he gave an- 
other striking instance of his boldness. George II. and. 
many of his court were in the congregation of this 
American Dissenter. His majesty, struck with admira- 
tion, or forgetting the proprieties of the occasion, spoke 
several times to those around him and smiled. Davies 



208 t)l!ATOUS Ol" TIIF, AMI'.lUrAN lU'.VdLt'TldN. 

paused a moment, and llion lookiiio; sIcm-uIv :it llu^ kint!;, 
exc]aimt>(l, "]\'/h'ii ihc lion rours, //ir beasts of the forest 
all tirinbh' ; and ir/icn Ki>i<:[ Jrstis s/)faks, the princes 
of earth should keep silence." 

Mr. Davies was tall, manly and dignilied. A disliiu 
guished clKiracter of the day, on secMnu; him pass, said: 
''he looked lihe the ambassador of some i^reat hinii:" 
His understand ini!; was strong, his elocution graceful, 
and his address on some occasions was overwhelming. 
Patrick lleni-y was liis neighbor :ni(l ardent admirer. It 
is believed that therenowneil pupil was greatly imlebted 
to this patriotic preacher, both lor his sentiments and 
tiie invincible manner with which he enl'orc\'d them. 

During the gloomy period wIkmi the country was 
alarmed and distressed to the highest degree b\' tho 
Freni'h and Indian war. Davies exerted himself con- 
stantly to mitigate tlu^ sutleriugs of the people and to 
dispiMse their fears. On the 10th of .Inly, 1755, Gen- 
eral Hiaddock sustained his memorable defeat, and the 
remnant ol' his army was saved by the courage and skill 
of Colonel Washington, tluMi bnt twenty-three years old. 
On the '^Ofh of the same month, our moral hero jireached 
a sermon, "(^n tlu^ defeat of Cenend Braddock, going 
to l'\M't Ihi Quesne." In this sermon, he calls on all 
his hearers, in the most imi)assioned and jiatriotic terms, 
1o show themselves men, IJiitons, Christians, and to 
make a noble stand lor the blessings they enjoyed." In 
the same year, he delivered a sermon before Captain 
Overton's company of volunteers, under the title of 
" Iveligion and patriotism, the constituents of a good 
soldier." It was in the discussion of this subject that 



TiiK rATiMO'i'u; I'lr/VY OF '70. 209 

his famous prophecy occurred. tSpeaking of tfio cn- 
eourajrinf:^ fact, that Ciod had "difTused some sparks 
of m.'irtial i'wc, throu'jh the country," said lie, "as a 
remarkahl(! instance ol" this, I may point out to the 
pubhc th:it heroic youth, Cy'oloriel Washiri<rtori, whom I 
cannot but ho|)e J'rrjvidence h;is hitherto preserved, in 
so signal a manner, fo/- sovu; iiiiportanl service to Iris 
country." 

Sacred elorpjcnce, in revohjtionary times, is th(; chief 
conservative; of order and the ,n;rar)d sol;ice of tiie [)0[)u- 
lar mind. Wliile it ffjrtifies the patriot in [lis reh(!lhon 
against tyranny, it exhorts him to a patient endurance 
of unavoidable wrongs. It alleviates as much as possi- 
ble the pressure of the chair), })y o]:)ening })efore the suf- 
ferer celestial horizons, fragrant with immortal arna- 
rynths, anrl teeming with infmite beatitudes. Davies 
was of this starnj), a bold [)atriot anrl a, bold Christian. 

" lie liiiil a twofolrl iiiiliirc, uml llx; ddo 
Was of a liif^hcr order, with tlic souls 
Who shiiin along the jiatli of centuries 
In full nnil perfect brightness, standing forth 
In their ow/i loftiness, the beacon lights 
By which the world is guided and upborne 
From its forever downward tendency. 

Another patriotic preacher fell a martyr to his ze;d in 
behalf of his country, at I'ili/.abethtovvn, New .Jer.sey. 
On the 21st of January, 1780, the first Presbyterian 
church was burned by the IJritish, and in the following 
November, they shot its minister, the Rev. James Cald- 
well. He was a learned, pious, and devoted servant of 



210 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

his country and his God. He embarked every thing in 
the holy cause he espoused, pouring his blood on the 
earth after they had burned the pulpit from which he 
had often poured his ])atriotic exhortations on the peo- 
ple's heads. " There were giants in those days;" and it 
is easy to explain the force of their language, and the 
fidelity of their actions. They preached in an age of 
revolution, a time of popular excitement and national 
transition, when there transpired in rapid succession 
changes more momentous than ever before agitated the 
world. Then every man w'as intensely absorbed in the 
general struggle ; feeling that the welfare of all was en- 
trusted to each, every citizen was a consecrated soldier, 
in some form contending for freedom and national life 
at his appointed post in the very heat of the combat. 
Among the excited mas.s, ministers of the Gospel were 
by no means the least active or efficient. They ex- 
tended the cegis of a divine religion over the battered 
and exhausted form of the colonial confederation, and in- 
spired fortitude in all who were faint. They were agi- 
tated with a lofty inspiration, as the earth is shaken in 
the convulsions of an earthquake, not by the assaults of 
external power, but by the irrepressible fires of freedom 
and piety which burned within their patriotic hearts. It 
was for this reason that they had such a niighty influ- 
ence on their hearers. True eloquence, like true religion, 
is a movement of sensibility as well as an act of reason. 
If one has " thoughts that breathe," you may be sure he 
will have " words that burn." If one is truly a patriot, 
in the pulpit or out of it, his conduct will comport with 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 211 

his professions, and his life will be at the service of his 
country as well as of his God. 

Illustrious examples abound in every direction, but 
we will take our next in a region farther north. It was 
fittins; that the first battle of the Revolution should be 
fought under the eves of the church at Lexington. It 
was in that vicinity that the Genius of Patriotism had 
long dwelt with her enthusiastic devotee. 

The town records of Lexington contain many impor- 
tant documents which discussed the great questions in- 
volved in the national struggle for Independence. In 
1765, ihe citizens vindicated the popular movement in 
respect to the Stamp-Act. In 1767, they unanimously 
concurred with the resolution of Boston, to prevent the 
consumption of foreign commodities. In 1768, they 
argued with great force against the right of Great 
Britain to tax America. In 1772, they resolved, in most 
thrilling terms, to seek redress for daily increasing 
wrongs; and in 1774, they took measures to supply 
themselves with ammunition, arms and other requisites 
for military defence. What hero drew those masterly 
l)apers, defended their principles, and fired the people at 
all hazards to defend them ? History has recorded the 
fact, that the Reverend Jonas CIa7-k, was their author 
and chief defence. He was one of the many patriotic 
clergy of New England, who instructed their beloved 
flock in peace, and guarded them amid the dread neces- 
sities of war. "Mr. Clark," says Edward Everett, 
"was eminent in his profession, — a man of practical 
piety, — a learned theologian, — a person of wide, general 
reading, — a writer perspicuous, correct, and pointed, be- 



212 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

yond the standard of tlie day, — and a most intelligent, 
resolute, and ardent champion of the popular cause. He 
was connected by marriage with the family of John 
Hancock. Their connection led to a portion of the in- 
teresting occurrences of the 19th of April, 1775. The 
soul-stirring scenes of the great tragedy which was 
enacted on this spot, were witnessed by Mr. Clark, 
from the door of his dwelling hard by. To perpetuate 
their recollection, he instituted, the following year, a ser- 
vice of commemoration. He delivered himself a his- 
torical discourse of great merit, which was followed on 
the returns of the anniversary, till the end of the Revo- 
lutionary war, in a series of addresses in the same strain, 
by the clergy of the neighboring towns." 

These were the brave men of prophetic eye who as- 
cended the altars of God to proclaim in clear tones and 
firm faith the future era of American democracy. They 
had the disposition and capacity to take lar-reaching and 
comprehensive views. They were not content to con- 
sume the passing hour, in amusing on the deck of the 
ship of State, the audience that surrounded them with 
applause ; they knew the extent and the perils of the 
sea upon which they were borne ; they consulted the 
currents of the tides and the ominous winds; equally 
regardful of charts and guiding stars, they gave heed to 
the reef on which their buiVeted craft might suddenly 
be dashed, and looked anxiously forward to a haven 
where tempest-tossed humanity might in safety be 
moored. But their solicitude, instead of impeding theJr 
activity, inspired it. Animated by motives grand as the 
liberties of a continent, these Christian soldiers illus- 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 213 

trated, in their persons and work, how courage becomes 
more firm when fortified by the principles of patriotic 
piety, that a warrior is invincible when inspired by 
faith, and when he can raise pure hands to the God of 
battles, in whose name he fights. It is under such cir- 
cumstances and from such men that we may expect im- 
pressive preaching. The eloquence of the pulpit is not 
a festive pantomime, but a bold and rugged eloquence 
that does battle with stern realities. The weapons 
which the preacher is called to use, like the sword which 
guarded Eden's gate, must have the brilliancy of flame 
as well as the force and edge of steel. The era of '76 
was favorable to the highest order of eloquence. Every 
youth came upon the public stage with the cap of lib- 
erty upon his head, and a passport to victory or death in 
his hand. Then the people assembled in their churches, 
to invoke the blessing of God on their arms, while their 
j>astors preached to them under the frowns of power 
and in the prospect of martyrdom. This gave fervor 
to their thoughts, depth to their sympathies, earnestness 
and solemnity to their daring resolutions. Outward 
perils and inward solicitude invested the preacher with 
the power of thrilling his audience through and through 
with repeated shocks of mental batteries highly charged. 
They did not fatigue with elegant inanity, nor stupify 
with excessive prettiness. Their soul teemed with an 
intense virilitj', and their language was forked with ter- 
rific splendor. They seemed more like prophets than 
priests, master-spirits raised up to mould the destinies 
of mankind ; their attitudes were dignity ; their gestures 
power. The functions they discharged were divine ; their 



214 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

tones were trumpets vocal with messages from heaven ; 
their sentiments blazed like meteors prognosticating 
conflicts, conquests, and final doom. Each one of those 
martial heroes who glorified the era of '76, was a co- 
lossus among ordinary men, and stood forth in naiive 
majesty, indomitable, unmoved, sublime. 

A happy combination of piety and patriotism, consti- 
tuting the most useful private and public virtue, we 
have already found in different sections of our common 
country during the Revolution. We have only to turn 
to the highest council of our infiint nation, the most 
august assembly of men that ever congregated to declare 
themselves free, and we shall find another illustrious 
example in the person o( John Wither spoon. 

He was lineally descended from John Knox, the 
moral hero of Scotland, was born near Edinburgh, 1722, 
and, from the time he adopted America as his country, 
^tas as much distinguished as a preacher as a patriot. 
Dr. Witherspoon was one of the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, which he eloquently defended ; 
through a trying period of congressional responsibility 
he was a very efficient legislator ; and for many years 
performed the duties of a laborious, erudite, and emi- 
nently successful president of Princeton College. On 
taking his seat in Congress, he surprised his associates, 
as his brother Davies, who now sleeps by his side, had 
surprised the courts of A'irginia, with his wonderful 
knowledge and skill as a civilian. He was associated 
with Richard Henry Lee and John Adams on several 
important committees and himself drew many valuable 



/ 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '7G. 215 

State papers. All his productions are marked by wit, 
energy, and eloquence. 

Of his wit, one or two examples will suffice. Just 
before the momentous decision of the fourth of July, a 
distinguished member had said in debate, that we were 
"not yet ripe for a Declaration of Independence." Dr. 
Witherspoon responded, "in my judgment, sir, we are 
not only ripe but rotting." Close and rigid argument 
was his rule of debate, but corruscations of vivacious 
fancy sometimes furnished amusing exceptions. He 
had the tact to beguile an audience of weariness, by 
indulging wisely in sarcastic mental frolics. 

"The humorous vein, strong sense, and simple style, 
To teach the gayest, make the gravest smile." 

For example: when Burgoyne's army was captured at 
Saratoga, General Gates despatched one of his aids to 
convey the intelligence to Congress. The officer in- 
dulged too freely in amusetnents by the way, so that the 
news reached Philadelphia several days ahead of him. 
Congress, however, principally for form's sake, proposed 
to present him an elegant sword ; but Dr. Witherspoon 
rose, and begged leave to move, that instead of a sword, 
they should present him a pair of goldeyi spurs. 

This anecdote suggests a word or two with respect 
to his energy. It was a trait which rendered him ex- 
ceedingly useful as a patriot and preacher. In Novem- 
ber, 177(), the army was in a deplorable condition for 
want of necessary supplies. They were retreating, 
almost naked and barefooted, in wintry cold, before a 
numerous and well-appointed foe. Congress was in- 



216 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

formed that the mihtary force of the country was " much 
more disposed to secure safety by submission, than to 
seek it by a manly resistance." In this fearful crisis, 
Witherspoon was appointed the chairman of a commit- 
tee to repair to head-quarters, and co-operate with 
Washington in redressing the grievances of the soldiers. 
Triumphant success crowned their energy. 

Numerous tokens of Dr. Witherspoon's eloquence 
remain on the journal of Congress and in the literature 
of the country. He usually wrote the main body of 
his discourse with great care ; but being a ready speaker, 
and possessing a remarkable talent for extemporizing, he 
could dexterously blend that which was premeditated and 
that which was spontaneous, so as to give the aggregate 
an air of great beauty and force. In one of his admira- 
ble rhetorical works he has himself said, " There is a 
piercing heat and penetrating force in that which flows 
from the heart, which distinguishes it not only from the 
coldness of indifference, but also from the false fire of 
enthusiasm or vain glory." 

Excepting Washington, he is said to have possessed 
more of what is called presence, than any other man of 
his day. He was six feet high, nobly pi'oportioned, and 
remarkably impressive in voice, movement, and mien. 
It was equally difficult for unruly students or thoughtless 
men to trifle in his presence. 

As soon as the liberties of the country were won, 
Dr. Witherspoon gladly resumed his classical pursuits 
and the work of the ministry. In a ripe and glorious 
old age, he died in peace, having accomplished vastly 
more than the Cardinal de Retz. " A man," said Bos- 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 217 

suet, "who was so faithful to individuals, so terrible to 
the State; of so lofty a character, thai it was impossible 
to esteem, to fear, to love, or to hate him in moderation. 
Firm in himself, he shook the universe, and obtained a 
dignity, which he afterwards wished to resign, as un- 
worthy of what it had cost him ; as an object beneath 
his mighty mind. But while he was in pursuit of what 
he was afterwards taught to despise, he shook every 
thing by his secret and powerful energies. Even in 
the universal overthrow of all around him, he appeared 
to suffice for his own support, and his intrepid aspect 
still breathed defiance to his adversary." 

But the doctor's greatest forte was in the pulpit. He 
felt habitually, and especially in preaching, — a pursuit 
in his avowed opinion the most sublime of all, — that " it 
is not enough to speak, but to speak true." His viva- 
city, his fervid logic, his impressive manner, and spon- 
taneous ease, all combined to make him a model 
preacher, as well as model citizen. The ambassador 
for Christ, to be eloquent, must be true to the promptings 
of his nature when least shackled. It will not answer 
to conceal that which is intrinsically noble, for the 
purpose of conciliating the ignobly prejudiced. The 
inspired heart and the glorious gospel are both the 
creations of the same infinite hand, and, " being things 
so majestical," we should not " offer them the least show 
of violence." Let the preacher throw himself into the 
heart of his audience with all the brave confidence of 
spontaneous inspiration, then will the tones and emo- 
tions native to his soul awaken a sleeping echo in every 
other bosom. Delicate specimens of refined style are 
10 



218 ORATORS or Tin; aimkrican uevolution. 

usually the concomitants oi' languor and imbecility. 
They are often obtained at the sacrifice oi' tliose hardier 
felicities, which, like alpine tlowers, adorn the inequali- 
ties of a more rug^vd and artless com|H)sition. It is 
not new arguments or novel images that are most 
demanded in the ordinary routine of modern pulpit 
ministrations, but that energy of soul whicii invests 
even feeble logic with startling power, and renders trite 
illustrations appalling to the aroused. We need more 
of that deep anil strong feeling which melts into love, 
kindles into hope, or stillens with despair. The mind 
ofajHiIffit oratt>r should tra\ers(^ the field of literary 
research and biblical exposition, as a potent angel 
careers through the unlathomcd abyss of etherial space; 
now obscured in the ilark recesses of thunder, and now 
shooting, in bold relicl', througii tloecy clouds of gold ; 
now i>lunging to the remote horizon, as if to test the 
speed and i)ower of his wing, and now lloaling in calm 
majesty through the infinite azure of untroubled sky. 
Such a man was 

Dr. S((/niH'I SlillmaHy of Boston. This distinguished 
patriot and divine was born in Philadelphia, but was 
removed early to Charleston, South (^arolina, where he 
was educated, and where he was oitlainiHJ, in l?.")',). 
ITe removed to Boston, IIW'S, and remained there until 
his death, 180(5, the universally admired pastor of the 
First Baptist Church. 

He was small in stature, but great of soul. His 
courtesy was proverbial, his accomplishments were di- 
versified, his piety was undisputed by all, and his patriotic 
preaching unexcelled. He was explicit and bold in avow» 



'J'lIK I'ATRIOTIC riETY OF '70. 219 

own peculiar views, but, was exceedingly forljeuring in 
his demeanor towards tliosc who were conscientiously 
oi)posed. Jt was only the vicious and the recreant, — 
those who armed themselves with malignant hatred 
against the cross and his country, — that suffered beneath 
his scathing bolts. His aniliition was that of a nioral 
hero, who contenthMl without :u\'^ci-, contjuered without 
meanness, and accumulated triumphs without {)iide; 
habitually desirous of being govcined by the golden 
rule, he fashioned his conduct under the influence of 
virtue and wisdom from above. Clothing his arms 
with light he fought against the powers of darkness ; at 
the same tim*; contemplating with lininbN; gratitude; 
the miry pit from which he had emerged, and putting 
forth an active Inind to resciK; those who remained behind. 
He fostered every (Miristiati cntcrpri/c, and neglected 
no effort that might contribute to instru(;t those whom 
prejudice had blinded, or set free from the thraldom of 
error thr»se whom cupidity had long kept bound. 

TIk; respect whinb this aibniialtK; [»reach(;r won was 
most comprehensive and of the highest kind. Among 
refined gentlemen, liberal scholars, and elofjuent divines, 
he ranked second to none of any section or name. 
Standing in the presence of armed foes, he preached 
with a jiower tha,t commanded respect, even when ho 
could not create compunction. When llu; British took 
possession of Boston, and d(!secrated its sacred edifices, 
some of the more skillful of their number, who had 
recoiled under Stillman's patriotic appeals, illustrated 
their spite by drawing a charcoal outline of the great 
divine on the f)lastered wall of his own pulpit, in all 



220 oHATous OK 'I'm: ami.kican rkvomition. 

tlic iVcedom t)f oxpirssivt.' i^vsturc ;uul eloquent deiuin- 
ciiitioM. 

It will iidl seem slr;iiiL!;(' llial Hr. StilliiKurs own 
church \v:is h;il)itu:illy lhri)iin;o(l, or that ^v•honcvel• ho 
visited othiM- cities his instructions wore sought with 
:ivi(lit\' l)v the most i'\;i1|(mI minds. John A(l;nns wrote 
to his w ilc, thus : 

" rnii, Ani'.i.iMUA, Atk Aii^., 177(-!. 

"Went this niornint;- to the Baptist niecthig, in hopes 
t>l' heaiini;- Mr. Stillman. hut was disappointed, llo 
was tluM'e, hut another j^entliMuau i)reaciied." 

'Plu'se letters ot" .lohn Adams lo his wile, ahound 
with intimations ol'th(> patriotism of thi* pulpit in those 
days. In o\\(\ dated "7lh July, 1775,'.' he inquires: 
"Does .Mr. Wibird preach against oppression, and the 
other cardinal vices of the times "r' Tell him, the clergy 
here, ot"(>verv denomination, thunder and li!j;hten every 
JSahhath. Thi^y pi-;iv for Boston and the IMussachu- 
selts. They thank Clod explicitly and i'ervently Tor 
our remarkable successes. They ]M-ay lor the Ameri- 
can army. Tlu^y seem to l'e(>l ;is if they were an\oni; 
von. " 

The secular and the sacnMl patriots oi' that ago labor- 
ed, in ditVerent spheres, to I'ortil'y the two wings of the 
same army. Owe promott>d diM'ence by martial force, 
the othiM- (>\lend(Ml thi> interests of religion; one beat 
down the ramparts ot' inyading power, the other erected 
the sln-ini>s of education and jiiety ; oiu^ drove hack the 
riiilistines Uo\\\ o\w short^s, the otlu>r built payilions 
for Israel's dod. When the battle ^vas over and the 
great boon of liberty was won, both parties were found 



'i'lllO rATIlloTK; I'lI'lTY OK '7(). 221 

at tlio same altars, having toiled lor one end, and 
expressing gratitude lor blessings dearly bought, and by 
each e([u:illy jtri/.cd. 

Dr. Stilhnan was foremost among those who with one 
hand disconihted the Amalekites, and rais(!(l the othc^r to 
implore divine benedictitjtis. To the heroism ol" Joshua, 
in the eombiit, he j(»in(;(l the laith (»! Mos(^s upon the 
motuitain, bcjholding the goixjiy lusritage whi(;h he h:id 
j)atite(l to secure, and bearing under the arms ol a war- 
rior the he;ut and doeility ol ;i, child. Always on the 
fi(;ld of battle, contjuering souls for (jlod or confounding 
his foes, each ste[) he took mai'ked a new victory, and 
at the end of his careen- he triumphantly grasped the 
amarynth of immoilal bliss. 

*' Anil now 'lis hINmicc, uII — iMicli.uilcf, r;ii(! tlicc. wi;ll !" 

Arclihisliop (larnill was a devol(;(| patriot and elo- 
quent j)reacher. lie was the first Catholic Jiisho|) of 
the United States. On the 22d of February, 1800, by 
a solerrm and admirable discourse, he commemorated 
the character and services of (-eneral Washington, who 
Jiad died but a few months belore. It has been said by 
those who heard it, that wlien he recited the terrors, the 
encouragements, the distresses, and the glories of the 
struggle of Inde[)cndence, he a])peared to b(! laboring 
under intense emotions correspondcmt to those topics — 
to be swayed like the aged minstrel of the poel, with 
contagious induences, by the varied strain which \w. ut- 
tered. llapj)y for our country and the world will it Ix;, 
if all our divines shall remain as loyal as these. A high 
sense of national honor, that everlasting fire wJiich alone 



222 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

keeps patriotism warm in the hearts of its citizens, we 
cannot guard with a care too vigilant, and a jealousy 
too acute. A nation without the conservative influence 
of patriotic piety, may well say to corruption, thou art 
my father, and to the worm, thou art my mother and 
my sister. Every citizen, be his calling what it may, 
should bear the rose of heaven on his cheek and the fire 
of liberty in his eye. 

The best orators of every age have been created, by 
the oppressive circumstance, in the midst of which they 
have suddenly arisen with resistless power, as if they 
gathered strength and inspiration from the terrors of the 
storm. When the age needs great men it will find them 
— heroes not of the timid inimosa kind, who " fear the 
dark cloud, and feel the coming sound." Preachers in 
Revolutionary times are eminently practical ; nature 
supplies them with abundant ammunition, and necessity 
teaches them expressly to load and fire. They are the 
flying artillery of " the sacramental host of God's elect." 
They are inspired by no fictitious goddess of the Aonian 
Mount, but by that Eternal Spirit who directed the pen 
of Moses, the fingers of David, and the tongue of Paul; 
they drink of no fancied Pierian spring, but at a purer 
and more exalted source. 

The great Reformer said, " Human nature is a rough 
thing, and must have rough ministers to chastise it." 
Preachers who deal in sentimental commonplaces about 
the odor of roses and the blandishments of virtue, with- 
out enforcing the repugnant doctrines of transforming 
truth, are more recreant to duty and the welfare of man 
than was the tyrant Nero, when he despatched ships to 



TUE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '7G. 223 

Egypt, the granary of the world, in quest of sand for 
his gladiators, at a time when Rome was starving with 
famine. 

The most highly endowed among men are the chosen 
medium of communications from heaven. Such spirits 
are most numerous when most needed, and most pow- 
erful in the tempests which they are born to rule. The 
impressive march of events through which power on 
high is manifested to powers here below, the eternal 
unity of their cause and the solenm harmony of their 
results have an as))ect that profoundly strikes the mind. 
Under such eliciting influences, that which is sublime 
and immortal in man clearly reveals itself, and listens 
to the voices that proclaim 

" A Providence that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them as \vc may." 

The chosen ones of earth garner up these mysterious 
testimonies, and with them substantiate their faith. 
While Providence thunders in portentous events they 
fulminate with divine inspirations, and it is thus that 
celestial instruction is perpetuated and rendered intelli- 
gent to mankind. This was the mission which our pa- 
triotic fathers were raised up to perform ; in every dread 
emergency, heroes like them are placed by Jehovah on 
the watch-towers of Jerusalem, and they are silent 
neither day nor night. They are the godlike, "who re- 
sist unto blood, striving against sin." The banner of 
Constantine bore upon its folds a cross for a device, and 
the motto inscribed below, Spes Puhlica. Christian 
leaders have never been permitted to be mere carpet- 



224 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTtON. 

knights, effeminate actors in gay tournaments, — but 
masculine antagonists amid gigantic perils on a fearful 
battle-field. 

Glance for a moment over the page of ecclesiastical 
history, and see how the noblest heroes have been edu- 
cated and employed. Chrysostom, the most brilliant 
preacher of the ancient church, w^as compelled by duty 
to face Eudoxia as Latimer braved Henry the Eighth, or 
our own Davies awed into silence George the Second. 

At a dark period of moral history, the preaching of 
Peter the Hermit and of Bernard induced multitudes to 
assume outwardly the symbol of the cross ; and under 
more divine auspices, at a later period, a monk of the 
order of Augustine, transformed into something nobler, 
influenced the hearts of myriads to take up the true 
cross, — the truth that saves the soul. And who was 
this hero of the famous German Reformation ? Frederic 
had power and wisdom ; Reuchlin and Erasmus had 
talent and learning ; Hutten had wit, and Sickengen 
courage; Cronberg had virtue of an exalted character, 
and Melancthon was endowed with almost every excel- 
lence that can belong to man. But these were all com- 
pelled to say, in respect to the needed strength, " it is 
not in me." Something mightier was needed than 
erudite scholars, accomplished princes, valorous warriors, 
and pedantic priests. Luther appeared, and brought 
with him, to use his own description, " that theology 
which seeks the kernel of the nut, the pulp of the wheat, 
the marrow of the bone." The world began to listen 
to preaching, strange indeed, but life giving. It was no 
longer a meretricious rhetorician nor a subtle schoolman 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '7G. 225 

that addressed them ; it was a brother man who had 
felt the power of divine truth on his own heart, and 
whose impressive manner certified that lie was intent 
on winning souls to Christ. A famous doctor, Meller- 
stadt, mixed in the crowds who attended on Luther's 
preaching. " This jnOnk," said he, " will put all doctors 
to the rout; he will introduce a new style of doctrine, 
and will reform the whole church ; he builds upon the 
word of Christ ; and no one in this world can either 
resist or overthrow that word, though it should be 
attacked with all the weapons of Philosophers, Sophists, 
Scotists, Albertists, and Thomists." 

The great maxim of Erasmus was "Give light, and 
tiie darkness will disperse of itself" Luther practised 
on that rule, and the light came. "I swear manfully to 
defend the truth of the Gospel," was the oath he took 
when he was made a doctor of theology. His words 
smote against the popular heart as mighty waves dash 
against the shore of the sea. 

The Ameri.can most like him was Samuel Davies. 
Said Luther, " If in my sermons I thought of Melanc- 
thon and other doctors, I should do no good ; but I 
speak with perfect plainness for the ignorant, and that 
satisfies ^very body. Such Greek, Latin, and Hebrew 
as I have, I reserve for the learned. Nothing is more 
agreeable or useful for a common audience than to 
preach on the duties and examples of Scripture. Ser- 
mons on grace fall coldly on their ears." President 
Davies understood these maxims of common sense well, 
and reduced them to practice. He was undoubtedly 
one of the most accomplished and successful pulpit ora- 
10* 



226 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

tors of this or any other land. Though he died at 
thirty-six, he reared memorials of the power of his sacred 
eloquence, more precious and enduring than Pharaonic 
monuments. 

"These stars have set; 0, rise some other such !" 

When the children of Israel were about to leave 
Egypt, Moses was afraid to take the command, because 
he felt the need of sovereign eloquence to sustain such 
an office. Jehovah, in his promise to supply the want 
of this exalted gift, acknowledged its importance as he 
answered, " Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy brother ? I 
know that he can speak well, and he shall be thy spokes- 
man unto the people." And as the tide of Reformation 
moved westward, observe how good speaking was, as 
ever, its herald and support. An impressive manner is 
always most conspicuous when it is most needed. The 
immense crowds that thronged around St. Paul's Cross, 
in London, and listened through successive hours in the 
open air to Jewell and Latimer, were not influenced by 
the artistic glories of magnificent architecture, — thrilling 
melody, breathing marbles, soaring arches, or the en- 
trancing illumination of gorgeous windows, — and yet 
those motley multitudes were swayed to and fro by 
sacred eloquence, as a whirlwind bends forest boughs. 
Colet, the persecuted dean of St. Paul's, in 1505, was 
highly gifted in rhetorical excellence ; and so was the 
superlatively accomplished Andrews. Concerning the 
latter, the illustrious Sir Thomas More went so far as 
even to praise the language of his face. Of Donne, also 
dean of St. Paul's, in the reign of James I., the follow- 



ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 227 

ing exquisite sketch is given by Walton: "A preacher 
in earnest, weeping sometimes for his auditory ; some- 
times with them ; always preaching to himself, like an 
angel from a cloud, but in none; carrying some, as St. 
Paul was, to heaven in holy raptures, and enticing 
others by a sacred art and courtship to amend their 
lives; and all this with a most particular grace and an 
inexpressible addition of loveliness." 

While the great theological contest was yet raging, it 
happenetl that Hooker was the master of the Temple- 
Church, and Travers the afternoon lecturer. It was with- 
in that exquisite edifice recently restored, that the author 
of the Polity delivered some of the noblest prose in the 
English language. But his manner was bad. He 
spoke with a feeble voice, and with his eyes fixed in a 
downward look, says Walton, "insomuch that he seem- 
ed to study as he spake." His opponent, Travers, on 
the contrary, was endowed with popular gifts ; and it 
was not, as was often said, because they had Rome 
in the morning and Geneva in the afternoon, that the 
Ten^ple was crowded in every part when Travers as- 
cended the pulpit. The preference, felt instinctively by 
all, will ever be given to the glowing utterance of 
thought and feeling, instead of the calm enumerations 
of frigid logic. Argumentative preaching is efi!ective 
only as it is associated with the emotional part of reli- 
aion. Burke has said, " There is no heart so hard as 
that of a thorough-bred metaphysician," and he might 
have added, there is no public talk so insufferably dull 
as metaphysical preaching. Studied nonsense in ser- 
mons is a more painful affliction than unstudied, since 



228 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

the latter has at least the mitigation of disgust which 
usually attends an extemporary effusion. 

If we unite the solidity of Hooker and the practical 
manner of Travers, the aggregate would be much like 
Witherspoon. Our renowned countryman was a kind 
of theologico-democratic compound ; erudite and enthu- 
siastic, like Augustine; bold and patriotic, like Brutus. 
While in the President's chair at Nassau Hall, he shone 
pre-eminently as a scholar and divine; but in the im- 
passioned gladiatorship of Congress, the spirit of the 
Tribune predominated, and the patriotic priest bore no 
slight resemblance to the militant prelate of the middle 
ages, who, at the battle of Bouvines, would wield no 
other weapon than a mace, because his religion forbade 
him to shed blood, and who, in the midst of the conflict, 
blessed with one hand the numerous foes whom he 
crushed with the other. He was the devout cavalier 
of Liberty in her own temple of legislation. 

It is not to be understood, however, that Di*. Wither- 
spoon, or his distinguished co-patriots in the pulpit, were 
religious or political fanatics. When a clergyman 
transforms himself into a phrenzied partizan, the dupe 
or champion of a local faction, he renders himself the 
more odious in contrast with the exalted profession he 
has disgraced. This is an instinctive feeling of the 
popular heart, and it is just ; for what crime can be 
greater than to identify the things of earth with those of 
heaven, the illusions of time with the imperishable 
things of eternity ? What can be more sacrilegious 
and fatal to human hopes than to place an earthly pas- 
sion or human interest on the altar by the side of Christ, 



THE FATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 229 

and sometimes even in Christ's own place? But the 
appropriate functions of a rehgious teacher do not forbid 
the duties of a patriot — they imperiously demand them. 
God designed that the minister of the Gospel should be 
the man of the people, the confidant of their miseries, 
the balm of their secret griefs, the depositary of their 
tears, the interpreter of their necessities, their protector, 
friend and father, a living providence to all who hunger 
and thirst, a light to guide the benighted, and a beacon 
to warn those in danger of destruction. 

It would be unjust to pass from the heroical age of 
pulpit eloquence, without adverting to that glorious man 
of God whose hallowed influence is flooding the world 
with ennobling power, Jolin Wesley. Neither should 
we forget, that about the period we are now contem- 
plating, Whitefield's glowing, impassioned, and awful 
eloquence — his incessant, daring, and quenchless en- 
thusiasm — produced a profound and extensive impression 
on all classes of people in our land. But these allusions 
suggest topics quite too prolific to be broached fully at 
present. They richly deserve an extended article by 
themselves. 

Before concluding, however, it will be well to remark 
that, all things considered, perhaps, the finest specimen 
of a captivating and profitable American preacher in 
Revolutionary times was the Boston pastor already 
described. Dr. Slillman. His views of pulpit ministra- 
tions were elevated and comprehensive. And what 
are they but to unfold the doctrines and explain the 
pure and sublime morality of the gospel, illustrating its 
tendency and diffusing its spirit — to exalt the aim of 



230 ORATORS OP THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

the soul and direct its aspirations toward immortal 
worth, — to proclaim the conditions of holy faith and 
enduring joy, exemplified in " the victorious agonies of 
saints and martyrs," — to reveal that glorious and dread- 
ful destiny so intimately connected with evei'y act of 
life, ascending with Milton to those immortal heights of 
light, love and glory : 

'• The living throne, the sapphire blaze, 
Where angels tremble while they gaze." 

In efforts to do this, what stores of wealth are there in 
genius, eloquence, poetry, profound erudition, and sanc- 
tified embellishment, that may not be judiciously em- 
ploj'ed ? When considered simply as a sj)here for 
intellectual greatness and cultivation, how sublime is 
the station, and how glorious are the privileges which the 
Christian minister enjoys. But where are the zealous 
competitors whose chief ambition is to run for the prize 
of this high calling? Where are the men whose pas- 
sions are educated to fortify their understanding, and 
whose rational powers are penetrated and invested with 
heavenly grace, as the Shekinah burned in splendor 
ineffable, over and around the mercy-scat ? 

The most effective preachers are not subtle dialecti- 
cians, nor the fastidious retailers of bigotted creeds. 
They do not always believe that it is indisi)ensable to 
"explain upon a thing till all men doubt it." In their 
estimation it is desirable occasionally to take for granted 
what dubious metaphysicians and astute dogmatists deem 
it essential, as a primary step in all discourse, eternally to 
prove. Preachers like Stillman will make a better use 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 231 

of their powers. They will feel that they are employed 
in the divinest diplomacy ; and, as ambassadors com- 
missioned from heaven, they will exert every faculty in 
direct negociation for the salvation of souls. That is 
the best sermon which is easiest understood and longest 
remembered. The minister must be well-educated, but 
his education is for use and not for show. Preachers 
of ihe right stamp remember this and act accordingly. 
With the concentrated fires of an intelligent, enthusi- 
astic, and ravishing eloquence, they impress transcend- 
ent worth upon the hearer, inflaming him with a passion 
for moral excellence, and imparting to him a vital im- 
pulse which, in virtuous habits and practical godliness, 
is perpetually reproduced. 

The magnificent, equally with the majestic, is a 
source of power to the |)ulpit orator. Every kingdom 
of nature, every department of science, and every 
production of art, — philosophical research and patriotic 
disquisition, — whatever history has bequeathed, imagi- 
nation invented, or fancy embellished, — may be appro- 
priately employed in the foundation of the preacher's 
work, or as blandishments to adorn it. His audience 
yield to him this right willingly, and rejoice in its exer- 
cise, never more happy than when he snatches them 
" from Thebes to Atliens, when and where he will." 
To him, at the head of all speakers, most legitimately 
belong the richest treasures of earth, air, and sea, the 
peculiar tint and tone of each clime, the mental wealth 
of each nation, and the accumulated wonders of the 
whole universe. He may revel in "gorgeous Ind," with 
her golden skies and glittering domes ; "fanatic Egypt 



232 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

and her priests ;" the waving palms and wizard glens 
of the South ; and the stern superstitions of the North, 
with all its hills of snow and lucid air, "clad in the 
beauty of a thousand stars." He may cull gems from 
coral caverns, pluck flowers from sunny fields, and robe 
himself in splendor from the radiant heavens ; he may 
lay all literature under contribution to illustrate his 
theme, array all worlds around him as the theatre of his 
discussion, and summon spirits from bliss, and devils 
damned, to verify and enforce his thought. 

Such a preacher was Stillman. The " truth came 
mended from his lips." A few venerable persons yet 
survive who remember his august and imposing action, 
— that action which is the soul of thought. Nothing 
ostentatious in the mode of his commencement indicated 
premeditated display ; all was simple and sublime. His 
figure was not corpulent, but it was compact and 
graceful in an extraordinary degree. The full wig and 
ample robes in which he was accustomed to preach 
added to the nobleness of his exterior, while an air of 
modesty and earnest candor augmented the force of his 
speech. His voice was sweet, flexible, and sonorous, 
but grave, firm, and masculine. His gestures, produced 
without effort or affectation, moved simultaneously with 
his mind, and both were animated, dignified, and per- 
suasive. He occupied the same pulpit for many years, 
under the scrutiny of a vast congregation, all of whom 
found it difficult to decide which most to admire in 
their preacher, his exemplary life, or his unequalled 
eloquence ; the soundness of his doctrine, or the graces 
of his delivery. Whenever his elegant form and ex- 



THE PATRIOTIC PIETY OF '76. 233 

pressive features appeared in their presence, the vivid- 
ness of his emotions and the pungency of his appeals 
served to remind the classical hearer of that ancient 
patriot who " bore the republic in his heart." 



I 



CHAPTER IX. 
PATRICK HENRY, 

THE INCARNATION OF REVOLUTIONARY ZEAL. 

If there be one attribute of man supreme in dignity 
and worth it is that of oratory. The illusions of the 
eye, combined with the enchanting power of music, 
constitute an influence less potent upon the imagination 
and will, than the spirit-stirring appeals of "eloquence 
divine." Other charms are mostly drawn from the ex- 
ternal world, but this emanates from the unseen spirit 
within ; its splendors gleam through animated clay, 
and proclaim the superior majesty of immortal mind. 

When men are exhilarated in the presence of excel- 
lence, when they are greatly moved by the power of 
cultivated speech, the imagination is more susceptible of 
receiving agreeable impressions, and the mind becomes 
insensibly imbued with the worth it in rapture admires. 

When the heart and fancy are thus taken captive by 
those sentiments which are addressed to our sensibilities, 
the better to move our reason, the severe rules which 
we impose on the frigid logician, become generously ex- 
panded. The orator feels no longer wounded by hyper- 
critical restraints ; more latitude is granted for the 
expansion of his genius, and in the moment of fortunate 




iPA\T:ii:irM iTurEi^iB^- 




PATRICK IIKNRY. 235 

daring, he creates happy emotions in others, and fore- 
tokens fame for himself. 

The era in our history, now under consideration, was 
cxcce(HngIy favorable for the cultivation of the most 
exalted order of eloquence. It was a period when the 
public mind was strongly agitated by the popular dis- 
cussion of interests, the most comprehensive and en- 
during. 

The war oi" 1770 was the Ti-ojan war of America; it 
diflused one in)pulse over our whole domain, united the 
Colonies in one s})irit of resistance against oppression, 
and bound them together in one national bond. More- 
over, it had the effect of the Persian war, when Miltiades 
led the flower of Greece to Marathon, and a young, but 
vigorous, nation could successfully compete with supe- 
rior numbers and veteran skill. The dill'erent sections 
of the country vied with each other in generous compe- 
tition for precedence in facing a common foe, feeling 
that stern conflicts and a glorious triumph were neces- 
sary to give them all a consciousness of their real 
strength. 

The period of our Colonial and Revolutionary history 
was, in fact, an era of great superiority in eloquence, at 
home and abroad. England then presented an array of 
orators such as she has known at no other time. In 
Westminster Hall, the accomplished Mansfield was con- 
stantly heard in support of kingly power, while the phi- 
losophic and argumentative Camden exercised his 
mighty intellect in defence of popular rights. Burke 
had awoke with all his wealth of fancy, daring imagina- 
tion and comprehensive learning. Fox had entered the 



236 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

arena of forensic and senatorial gladiatorship, with his 
great, glowing heart, and titanic passions, all kindled 
into volcanic heat. Junius, by his sarcasm and auda- 
city, stung the loftiest circles into desperation. Erskine 
embellished the darkened heavens by the rainbow tints 
of his genius ; and Chatham, worthily succeeded by his 
"cloud-compelling" son, ruled the billowy sea of excited 
mind with the majesty of a god. 

Against all that is powerful in mental energy and 
martial force, our fathers had to give battle under the 
most fearful odds. The chivalrous antagonists came 
into open field ; empires were at stake, and the struggle 
was worthy of the- prize, as the result was glorious to 
those whom we delight to commemorate. 

Eloquence in America then was a system of the most 
invigorating mental gymnastics. The popular orators 
hurled accusations and arguments into the bosom of the 
populace, and aroused universal rebellion against regal 
wrongs. Prominent among the mightiest of the " rebels," 
stood the subject of this sketch. 

The ancients set up statues of renowned citizens in 
the most public resorts, to keep passing generations in 
remembrance of the worthies whose patriotism and piety 
they ought to emulate. Sometimes filial love would 
prompt admiring disciples to bring garlands, not with 
the vain hope of adding to the intrinsic worth, or ex- 
ternal elegance, of the venerated form, but simply to 
wreathe round its brow a token of fond regard. In the 
present instance, our ambition "hath this extent, no 
more." We do not herein expect to elicit any new 
facts in the life of Patrick Henry, but shall attempt only 



PATRICK HENRY. 237 

to group, as comprehensively as possible, some of our 
views respecting the source and characteristics of his 
eloquence. The circumstances relating to his paren- 
tage, birth, and early history, have been carefully com- 
piled by his biographer, Wirt, and are freely copied in 
the historical portion of the following sketch : 

Patrick Henry, the second son of John and Sarah 
Henry, and one of nine children, was born on the 29th 
of May, 1736, at the family seat, called Studley, in the 
county of Hanover, and colony of Virginia. In his 
early childhood his parents removed to another seat in 
the same county, then called Mount Brilliant, now the 
Retreat; at which latter place, Patrick Henry was 
" raised" and educated. His parents, though not rich, 
were in easy circumstances ; and, in point of personal 
character, were among the most respectable inhabitants 
of the colony. 

His father, Col. John Henry, was a native of Aber- 
deen, in Scotland. He was, it is said, a first cousin to Da- 
vid Henry, who was the brother-in-law and successor of 
Edward Cave in the publication of that celebrated work, 
the Gentleman's Magazine, and himself the author of 
d'everal literary tracts : John Henry is also said to have 
been a nephew, in the maternal line, to the great histo- 
rian. Dr. V/illiam Robertson. He came over to Virsi- 
nia, in quest of fortune, some time prior to the year 
1730, and the tradition is that he enjoyed the friendship 
of Mr. Dinwiddle, afterward the governor of the colony. 
By this gentleman, it is reported, that he was introduced 
to the elder Col. Syme, of Hanover, in whose family, it 
is certain, that he became domesticated during; the life 



238 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

of that gentleman, after whose death he "intermarried" 
with his widow, and resided on the estate whieh he liad 
left. It is considered as a fair proof of the personal 
merit of Mv. John Henry, that, in those days, when of- 
fices were bestowed with peculiar caution, he was the 
colonel of his regiment, the principal surveyor of the 
county, and, for many years, the presiding magistrate of 
the county court. His surviving acquaintances concur 
in stating that ho was a man of liberal education ; that 
he possessed a plain, yet solid understanding ; and lived 
long a life of the most irreproachable integrity and exem- 
plary ])iety. His brother Patrick, a clergyman of the 
Church of England, followed him to this country some 
years afterward ; and became, by /lis influence, the 
minister of St. Paul's parish, in Hanover, the functions 
of which office he sustained throughout life with great 
respectability. Both the brothers were zealous mem- 
bers of the Established Church, and warmly attached to 
the reigning family. Col. John Henry was consj)icu- 
ously so : " there are those yet alive," said a correspond- 
ent in 1805, "\\ho have seen him at the head of his 
regiment, celebrating the birthday of George IH. with as 
much enthusiam as his son Patrick afterwards displayed, 
in resisting the encroachments of that monarch."" 

•The mother of this "forest-born Demosthenes,"' was 
a native of Hanover County, and is said to have been 
eminently endowed with amiability, intelligence, and 
the fascinations of a graceful elocution. She had a 
brother who was one of the most etTective orators of 
that day. 

Jt is seldom, or never, that we meet with a man dis- 



PATRICK HENRY. 239 

tinguished in any intellectual pursuit who had a num- 
skull for a mother. IIow much does England and the 
world owe to Alfred ? Liberty, property, laws, litera- 
ture ; all that makes the Anglo-Saxon people what they 
are, and political society so nearly what it ought to be. 
And who made AllVcd all that he became to his own age, 
all that he is destined perpetually to be ? She who 
nursed his first thought and moulded his regal mind. 
"The words which his mother taught him," the lessons 
of wisdom she instilled into his aspiring soul, were the 
germs of thought, genius, enterprise, action, every thing 
to the future father of his country. 

And to " Mary, the mother of Washington," whose 
incomplete monument at Fredericksburgh lies shame- 
fully neglected, we owe all the mighty debt due from 
mankind to her immortal son. He has himself declared 
that to her influence and early instruction he was indebt- 
ed for all that was human in the direction of his fortunes. 

Curran's mother was, comparatively, an obscure 
woman, but one of strong original understanding and 
glowing enthusiasm. In her latter years, the celebrity 
of her son rendered her the object of increased atten- 
tion ; and critical observers could easily discover, in the 
irregular bursts of her eloquence, the primitive gushings 
of the stream which, expanding as it descended, at length 
attained a force and majesty that excited unbounded 
admiration. Mr. Curran himself felt his indebtedness 
for hereditary talent. Said he, " the only iid)eritance 
that I could boast of from my poor father, was the very 
scanty one of an unattractive face and person, like his 
own ; and if the world has ever attributed to me some- 



240 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

thing more valuable than face or person, or than earthly 
wealth, it was that another and a dearer parent gave her 
child a portion from the treasure of her mind." He attrib- 
uted much of his subsequent success to the early influence 
of such a mother, and, to his latest hour, would dwell 
with grateful recollection upon the wise counsel, upon 
the lessons of tionorable ambition, and of thorough piety, 
which she enforced upon the minds of her children. 
The mother of the Schlegels is said to have contributed 
greatly to form the character of her accomplished sons. 
We know that Canning, and Brougham, and Guizot, are 
indebted mainly to the same source of success. 

The Scotch "gumption," and Virginia ardor, inherited 
from his parents, and so finely blended in his own men- 
tal organization, constituted a richer patrimony for 
Patrick Henry, than all the splendors of remote pedigree 
and ancestral fame. 

The basis of Mr. Henry's character was acute com- 
mon sense. His insight into the workino;s of human 
nature was early exercised to an extraordinary degree. 
In the common acceptation of the word, he was not 
educated ; like Shakspeare, according to Ben Jonson, 
he "knew little Latin and less Greek." But in the best 
sense of the term, he was superlatively disciplined for 
the mission he was destined to fulfil. His principal 
book was the great volume of human nature. In this 
he was deeply read ; and hence arose his great "power 
of persuasion. The habit of critical observation formed 
in early youth went with him through life. Meeting, in 
a bookstore, with his friend Ralph Wormley, who, al- 
though a great book-worm, was infinitely more remark- 



PATRICK HENRY. 241 

able for his ignorance of men than Mr.^ Henry was for 
that of books — " What, Mr. Wormley," said he, "still 
buying books?" " Yes," said Mr. Wornr)ley, "I have 
just heard of a new work, which I am extremely anx- 
ious to peruse." " Take my word for it," said he, " Mr. 
Wormley, we are too old to read books ; 7'ead men — they 
are the only volumes that we can peruse to advantage." 
But Mr. Henry neglected neither. From his earliest 
youth he studied both with care, though his education 
was desultory in the extreme. As early as most boys 
he had learned to read, write, and perform the ordinary 
tasks in arithmetic. At ten years of age he was taken 
home, and under the instruction of his father learned 
the elements of Latin and Greek. 

Men of rare genius are generally fond of the ex- 
tremes of existence — profound solitude or boisterous 
glee. Such was the case with Henry. While yet a 
youth, he would spend protracted seasons in silent 
meditation, and then with fienzied zeal would abruptly 
plunge into the greatest hilarity. He was much ad- 
dicted to field sports, but these were employed as the 
occasions of mental discipline, rather than for purposes 
of dissipation. He was habitually frugal, though con- 
stitutionally sanguine and impetuous. If he freely used 
the angle and the gun for pastime, he assiduously pon- 
dered some great theme, or deduced an argument while 
a superficial observer would scarcely have supposed him 
to be at the same time employed in pursuits so widely 
diversified. His violin, his flute, a few favorite books, 
habitual and critical study of mankind, frequent ramb- 
lings in the wild woods, and profound meditations by 
11 



242 OKATOR.'-^ OK Tilt: AIM1:;KICAN ucvolution. 

llowing streams, occupied the early years of his youth. 
The only science he loved was nuithematics, and- the 
book he most read, among uninspired authors, was a 
translation oi' "the pictured l^ivy." With respect to 
reading, his motto seiMus to have been, "much, hut not 
many. ' He might Ir.ive adopted llobbes's o})inion, "that 
if lie had read as nuich as other men, he should have 
been as ignorant as they were." But the books he did 
peruse, he digested thoroughly, lie was not a thing 
made u]) of fragments, — he was himself, a man self-de- 
veloped, — he thought more than he read. 

By this kind of se\ere sell-lnition amid the beauties 
and sublimities of nature, he cultivated a llexile majesty, 
a natural grandeur of soul. It was not the artificial 
groves of the Academy, the jHilished pavements of the 
Portico, nor CJrecian steeds constrained with bit and 
curb, that listened to the harp of Orpheus, but the wild 
trees of unfrequented haunts, the rocks of deserts un- 
adorned, and the untamed tigers of the wood. 

When lifteen years old, Mr. Henry was placed behind 
tlic counter of a country store; but tlu; hands destined 
to forge thunderbolts, were unskillful in measuring tape 
and hoarding woildly gains. Tc^gasus chatcd in the 
contracted sphere, and struggled for escape. By en- 
larging the domain of more exalted excursions, however, 
he ruined the petty profits of the shop. At the early 
age of eighteen, he was married. This aj)parently in- 
discreet act was probably an advantage in fact. It fur- 
nished hin\ a secluded lu)me of his own, a solace in 
pecuniarv trials, and a restraint on vicious induliience. 
Thus, in lonely studies, healthful toils and domestic joys. 



TATRICK HENRY. 243 

he cultivated in deep obscurity the giant faculties of his 
soul. 

"There huve been tliose tli:it fioiu tlic deepest eaves 
And cells of night, and fastnesses, below 
The slonny dashing of the ocean-waves, 
Down, farther down than gold lies hid, have nursed 
A quenchless hope, and watch'd their time, and burst 
On the bright day, like wukeners from their graves !" 

Fortunately lor our hero, he was endowed with a fine 
flow of ehistic spirits ; with a noble fortitude he braced 
himself boldly against every disaster of life. Mr. Jef- 
ferson made his ac(iuaintance in ihe winter of 1751)-(50, 
and has lel't us the following impressions resi)ecting 
him. "On my way to the college, I passed the Christ- 
mas holydays at Col. Dandridge's in Hanover, to whotn 
Mr. Henry was n near neighbor. ])uring the festivity 
of the season, I met him in society every day, and we 
became well ticcjuainted, although I was much his ju- 
nior, being then in my seventeenth year, and he a mar- 
ried man. His manners had something of coarseness in 
them ; his passion was music, dancing, and pleasantry. 
He excelled in the last, and it attached every one to 
him. He had, a little before, brf)ken up his store, or 
rather it had broken him up; but his misl'ortunes were 
not to be traced either in his countenance or conduct." 
Says another cotemporary, " He would be pleased and 
cheerful with persons of any class or condition, viciousi 
and abandoned persons only excepted ; he preferred 
those of character and talents, but would be amused 
with any who could contribute to his amusement." Ha- 
bitual cheerfulness is doubtless a mighty auxiliary to the 



244 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

mind, and happy is he who can rise above lowering 
storms and say, 

" I will dash these fond regrets to earth, 
E'en as an e;igle shakes the cumbering rain 
From his strong pinion." 

After a six weeks' preparation, he obtained a license 
to practice the law, being then twenty-four years of age, 
and almost entirely ignorant of the simplest forms of the 
profession he had embraced. For these facts we are 
also indebted to Mr. Jefferson. In the spring of 1760, 
he says, Mr. Henry "came to Williamsburg to obtain 
a license as a lawyer, and he called on me at college. 
He told me he had been reading law only six weeks. 
Two of the examiners, however, Peyton and John Ran- 
dolph, men of great facility of temper, signed his license 
with as much reluctance as their dispositions would 
permit them to show. Mr. Wythe absolutely refused, 
Robert C. Nicholas refused also at fii'st; but on repeated 
importunities and promises of future reading, he signed. 
These facts I had afterwards from the gentlemen them- 
selves ; the two Randolphs acknowledging he was very 
ignorant of the law, but that they perceived him to be a 
young man of genius, and did not doubt that he would 
soon qualify himself" 

Henry was one of those who are " victory organized," 
and will ever " find a war, or make one." The same rule 
applies to all such, that was announced to the Directory 
by the principal in command, when young Napoleon 
first began to display his astonishing power, — " Promote 
this young man or he will promote himself." 



PATRICK HENRY. 245 

For some time ho was entirely unnoticed, but in his 
famous speech in the parson s cause, he at length began 
to engross public attention. As counsel for Mr. Dun- 
dridge in a contested election, he made a brilliant 
harangue on the riehts of suflrage. Such a- burst of 
eloquence from so plain and humble a man, struck the 
popular mind with amazement, and at once made the 
speaker an object of universal respect. The incident is 
described as Jbllows, from the pen of Judge Tyler. It 
was the young advocate's first appearance in the digni- 
fied and refined society at Williamsburg, then the seat 
of lordly arrogance and colonial power. " The proud 
airs of aristocracy, added to the dignified forms of that 
truly august body, were enough to have deterred any 
man possessing less firmness and independence of spirit 
than Mr. Henry. He was ushered with great state and 
ceremony into the room of the committee, whose chair- 
man was Col. Bland. Mr. Henry was dressed in very 
coarse apparel ; no one knew any thing of him ; and 
scarcely was he treated with decent respect by any one 
except the chairman, who could not do so much vio- 
lence to his feelings and principles, as to depart, on any 
occasion, from the delicacy of the gentleman. But the 
general contempt was soon changed into as general ad- 
miration ; for Mr. Henry distinguished himself by a 
copious and brilliant display on the great subject of the 
rights of suftVage, superior to any thing tfiat had been 
heard before within those walls. It struck the commit- 
tee with amazement, so that a deep and perfect silence 
took place during the speech, and not a sound but from 
his lips was to be heard in the room." 



246 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Let US at this point dwell a little on his personal ap- 
pearance and modes of address. 

In his 3'outh, Mr. Henry was exceedingly indifierent 
to both costume and style, but as he rose in experience 
and influence, he became more refined. Through all 
vicissitudes, however, his personal appearance was won- 
derfully impressive. He was nearly six feet high ; spare 
and raw-boned, with a slight stoop of his shoulders. His 
complexion was dark and sallow ; his natural expression 
grave, thoughtful and penetrating. He was gifted with 
a strong and musical voice, often rendered doubly fasci- 
nating by the mild splendors of his brilliant blue eyes. 
When animated, he spoke with the greatest variety of 
manner and tone. It was necessary to involve him in 
some great emergency in order to arouse his more ster- 
ling qualities and then to the surprise of himself as 
well as every body else, he would in the most splendid 
manner develop, 

"A treasure all undreainpt of: — as the night 
Calls out the harmonies of streams that roll 
Unheard by day."' 

Gleams of passion interpenetrating the masses of his 
logic, i-^idered him a spectacle of delight to the friendly 
spectator, X^r of dread to his antagonist. He was care- 
less in dress, k«d sometimes intentionally and extrava- 
gantly awkward'Hji movement; but always, like the 
phosphorescent stone at Bologna, he was less rude than 
glowing. He could be vehement, insinuating, humor- 
ous, and sarcastic by turns, and to every sort of style he 
gave the highest eflect. He was an orator by nature, 



PATRICK HENRY. 247 

and of the highest class, combhiing all those traits of 
figure and intellect, action and utterance which have in- 
dissolubly linked his brilliant name with the history of 
his country's emancipation. 

The true orator is not the actor of his subject, but its 
organ. With him who hns something to say, under 
the importance of which he trembles, and is anx- 
ious to disbui'den his soul in the most direct and forcible 
manner, there will be no hollow wordiness, no gaudy 
decoration, no rhetorical sophisms, but a profound and 
manifest feeling of truth and honesty will gleam all over 
the speaker's person and fork the lightnings of his elo- 
quence. Tiie inspiration will be profound, the thought 
will be lucid, and the action natural ; looks, gestures, 
and tones will be such 

"As skill and graceful nature might suggest 
To a proficient of the tragic muae." 

The etherial splendors which burned through Patrick 
Henry's words, were not elaborated, spark by spark, in 
the laboratory of pedantic cloisters. It was in the open 
fields, under the wide cope of heaven, full of free, health- 
ful and livid atmosphere, this oratorical Franklin caught 
his lightnings from gathering storms as they passed over 
him ; and he communicated his charged soul with elec- 
trical swiftness and efiect. He was ihn incarnation of 
Ilevolidionary zeal. He had absorbed into his suscep- 
tible nature the mighty inspiration which breathed 
.throughout the newly awakened and arousing world. 
He tempered and retempered his soul in boiling preme- 
ditations against tyranny, as the cutler tempers a sword 



248 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

by plunging it into water while yet red hot from the fur- 
nace. The popular orator must be lucid if he would be 
influential. He must not be a metaphysician, an anti- 
quarian, nor a pedant, 

" Plunged to the hilt in musty tomes and rusted in." 

He cannot have too much learning; but he must show 
the edifice and not the scaflblding ; or rather, he must 
show nothing, but let all be seen without effort. He 
may possess subtle schemes and recondite erudition, but 
these must be dragged from their obscurity into a full 
blaze of light. He may be skilful in fine theories and 
cumbered with much learning, but they must be rendered' 
plain and prominent to common sense, or they have no 
claims to the honors of eloquence. That which cannot 
be invested with a blaze of imagination and made pal- 
pable to the public gaze, is not a fit subject for the ora- 
tor. It is not meant by this that in order to be com- 
prehended by the general mind one must be superficial ; 
on the contrary, nothing so soon palls on the popular 
taste as shallowness, and nothing so soon disgusts as flip- 
pant uniformity. Affectation and common-place are as 
loathsome to the masses as to the most refined indivi- 
duals ; and nothing will long interest them but deep 
thought in clear expression, a compound of untamable 
vigor, and daring originality. Assembled multitudes 
are enthralled by a style that is rich in meaning, vivid 
in color, and varied in tone ; its combinations must be 
bold, unexpected, clearly significant, pertinent to the 
topic in hand, and powerfully directed to one great end. 
Mr. Henry's knowledge of legal science was quite 



PATIUCK HENRY. 249 

limited, but his great natural sagacity enabled him to 
make the most successful use of such resources as he 
possessed. His great forte lay in arguing questions of 
common law, or in the defence of criminals before a 
jury. " There, his intimate knowledge of human na- 
l^ure, and the rapidity as well as justness of his infe- 
rences, as to what was passing in the hearts of his 
hearers, availed him fully. The jury might be com- 
posed of entire strangers, yet he rarely failed to know 
them, man by man, before the evidence was closed. 
There was no studied fixture of features that could long 
hide the character from his piercing and experienced 
view. The slightest unguarded turn of countenance or 
motion of the eye let him at once into the soul of the 
man whom he was observing. Or, if he doubted whe- 
ther his conclusions were correct from the exhibitions 
of countenance during the narration of evidence, he 
had, a mode of playing a prelude, as it were, upon the 
jury, in his exordium, which never failed to " wake into 
life each silent string," and show him the whole com- 
pass as well as pitch of the instrument ; and, indeed, (if 
we may believe all the concurrent accounts of his exhibi- 
tions in the general coui't,) the most exquisite performer 
that ever "swept the Svjunding lyre," had not a more 
sovereign mastery over its powers than Mr. Henry had 
over the springs of feeling and thought that belong to a 
jury. There was a delicacy, a tact, a felicity in the 
touch that was perfectly original, and without a rival. 
His style of address, on these occasions, is said to have 
resembled very much that of the Scriptures. It was 
strongly marked with the same simplicity, the same 
11* 



250 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

energy, the same pathos. He sounded no alarm ; he 
made no jnirade to put the jury on their guard. It was 
all so natural, so humble, so unassuming, that they were 
carried imperceptibly along, and attuned to his purpose, 
until some master- touch dissolved them into tears. His 
language of passion was perfect. There was no word 
" of learned length or thundering sound," to break the 
charm. It had almost all the stillness of solitary think- 
ing. It was a sweet reverie, a delicious trance. His 
voice, too, had a wonderful effect. He had a singular 
power of infusing it into a jury and mixing its tones 
with their nerves in a manner which it is impossible to 
describe justly; but which produced a thrilling excite- 
ment in the happiest concordance with his designs. No 
man knew so well as he did what kind of topics to urge 
to their understandings, nor what kind of simple imagery 
to present to their hearts. His eye, which he kept 
riveted upon them, assisted the process of fascination, 
and at the same time informed him what theme to 
press, or at what instant to retreat, if by rare accident he 
touched an un])ropitious string. And then he had such 
an exuberance of appropriate thoughts, of a])t illustra- 
tions, of apposite images, and such a melodious and va- 
ried roll of the happiest words, that the hearer was 
never wearied by repetition, and never winced from 
an apprehension that the intellectual treasures of the 
speaker would be exhausted."'* 

Henry exercised tremendous power over the people, 
because he was one of them — had studied their cha- 

* This outline, drawn by Mr. Wirt, is a fine sketch of his own won- 
derful abilities, as well as those of his admired predecessor at the bar. 



PATRICK HENRY. 251 

racter — was familiar with their habits of thought and 
action — had gained their confidence, and could con- 
ciliate their prejudice. He was skillful to ingratiate the 
affections of the popular heart, and could impel the con- 
victions of all, before the current of his declamation and 
the fervor of his appeals. He smote right and left, like 
an invincible warrior armed with broadsword, hewing 
his way through opposing legions. Action was his forte 
rather than meditation. He was not adroit in fortifying 
a case with obscure precedents and subtle distinctions. 
He was little accustomed to hunt a principle through 
the musty alcoves of black-letter libraries ; but his moral 
instincts were acute, his sense of justice as infallible as 
in the best of men, and the logic of his passionate soul 
commanded respect, if not conviction. Like Indian 
rubies of the finest water, he required no polish ; his 
soul glowed with its own fire, and emitted a brilliancy 
that was native to the quarry. But the field of conflict, 
and not the quiet study, was his appropriate sphere ; he 
was most splendid when in arms and involved in furious 
fight. Whenever his extraordinary faculties were 
aroused, he is reported by his cotemporaries to have 
been exceedingly fascinating. Judge Lyons said " that 
he could write a letter, or draw a declaration or plea, at 
the bar, with as much accuracy as he could in his office, 
under all circumstances, except when Patrick rose to 
speak ; but whenever he rose, although it might be on 
so trifling a subject as a summons and petition for 
twenty shillings, he was obliged to lay down his pen, and 
could not write another word until the speech was 
finished." 



252 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

On the contrary, tlie most distracting dangers of a 
tumultuous scene could not disturb the self-possession of 
Mr. Henry, nor shake the steadfastness of his purpose. 
It might have been truly said of hiin, " Half his strength 
he puts not forth, but stays his thunders in mid-volley." 
So firm and imperial was the control of his mind, that 
at any instant he could arrest the torrent of his fury, 
and, by a sudden change in its direction, overtake and 
scathe his foe. An exemplification of this will soon be 
quoted. In boldness of manner, and habitual self-com- 
mand, that spirit of daring and confident reliance on in- 
ternal resources which always commands attention and 
respect, our hero resembled Lord Chatham. It is related 
of the latter, that once in the House of Commons he 
began a speech with the words, "Sugar, Mr. Speaker," 
— and then, observing a smile to pervade the audience, 
he paused, "looked fiercely around, and with a loud voice, 
rising in its notes, and swelling into vehement anger, 
he pronounced again the word "sugar" three times! 
and having thus quelled the House, and extinguished 
every trace of laughter, turned round and scornfully in 
quired, " Who will laugh at sugar now ?" 

After Mr. Henry's death, there was found among his 
papers one sealed, and endorsed as follows, in his own 
hand-writing : " The within resolutions passed the House 
of Burgesses in May, 1765. They formed the first op- 
position to the Stamp-Act, and the scheme of taxing 
America by the British Parliament. All the Colonies, 
either through fear, or want of opportunity to form an 
opposition, or from influence of some kind or other, had 
remained silent. I had been, for the first time, elected 



PATRICK HENRY. 253 

a burgess a few days before, was young, inexperienced, 
unacquainted with the forms of the House, and the 
members that composed it. Finding the men of weight 
opposed to the opposition, and the commencement of 
the tax at hand, and that no person was hkely to step 
forth, I determined to venture; and alone, unadvised, 
and unassisted, on the blank leaf of an old law book, 
wrote the within. Upon offering them to the House 
violent debates ensued. Many threats were uttered, 
and much abuse cast on me by the party for submission. 
After a long and warm contest, the resolutions passed 
by a very small majority, perhaps of one or two only. 
The alarm spread throughout America with astonishing 
quickness, and the ministerial party were overwhelmed. 
The great point of resistance to British taxation was 
universally established in the Colonies. This brought 
on the war, which finally separated the two countries, 
and gave independence to ours. Wliether this will 
prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use 
our people make of the blessings which a gracious God 
hath bestowed on us. If they are wise they will be 
great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, 
they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt 
them as a nation. Reader, whosoever thou art, remem- 
ber this ; and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and 
encourage it in others. 

"P. Henry." 

The speech made by James Otis, in Boston, against 
" Writs of Assistance" made John Adams the orator. 
The eloquence of Patrick Henry, in the Colonial As- 



254 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

sembly, at Williamsburg, May, 1765, created another 
college student, Thomas Jefferson, the patriot. This 
great statesman was young when the orator, whom he 
st^'led " the magnificent child of nature," first appeared 
in public with his famous resolutions against the Stamp- 
Act, referred to in his own record just quoted. " The 
debate," to use Jefferson's strong language, " was most 
bloody," but torrents of indomitable eloquence from 
Henry prevailed, and the resolutions were carried. 

Incidents which occurred during this famous debate 
indicated new features in Mr. Henry's oratorical cha- 
racter. A remarkable instance proved that his power of 
sell-control was as great as that of his habitual impetu- 
osity. As a courser of high mettle and pure blood 
suddenly reined in, stands on his haunches with every 
nerve trembling, so he could arrest the impetuous course 
of his eloquence, and turn in a moment to reply to any 
pertinent or impertinent interruption. The following 
illustration of this point is preserved to us by Mr. Jef- 
ferson. " I well remember the cry of 'treason' by the 
speaker, echoed from every part of the House, against 
Mr. Henry. I well remember his pause, and the admi- 
rable address with which he recovered himself, and baf- 
fled the charge thus vociferated." The allusion here is 
to that memorable exclamation of Mr. Henrj' : " Caesar 
had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George III, 
— " Treason," cried the speaker, " treason ! treason !" 
echoed the House — "may profit by the example," 
promptly replied the orator, " if this be treason, make 
the most of it. 

It seems to be a fundamental law, that moral courage 



PATRICK HENRY. 255 

should constitute the true basis of oratorical success as 
well as personal honor. " No slave can be eloquent," 
says Longinus, and all literary history shows that the 
highest attainments can be secured only by the union of 
the most unshackled and uncorrupted qualities of head 
and heart. To think, vigorously and fearlessly to say 
what you think, is the only way to be effective in the 
use of speech. The faculty of profound and penetrating 
thought was a distinguished feature in Henry's mental 
character, and the boldness with which he expressed his 
opinions at the hazard of personal convenience was 
equally remarkable. Exalted sentiment was the inform- 
ing soul which invested his person with an imposing 
grandeur ; but the nobleness of his mien was enhanced 
by the perfect independence with which he employed 
his resources in defence of whatever he deemed essential 
to individual integrity or the ])ublic weal. His mind 
was ardent, and prolific of illustrations ; it threw off a 
profusion of beauties in its progress as naturally as a 
current of molten iron glows and sparkles as it issues 
from the furnace. His eloquent soul was one of that 
elevated class that revels in the luxuriance of splendid 
imagery, in every succeeding sentence changing its hue 
and form with Protean facility, throwing out something 
original at each remove, and generally terminating the 
chain with a link more magnificent than all the rest. 

Jefferson was present during the whole of the occa- 
sion alluded to above. He stood in the door of com- 
munication between the House and the lobby, where he 
heard the whole of the violent discussion. Like the boy, 
John Adams, he thenceforth consecrated himself to the 
12 



256 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

service of his country. Scipio Africanus, while yet in 
his early youth, stood one day on a hill near Carthage, 
and looked down on a terrific battle-field where those 
veterans, Massanissa and Hamilcar, crushed through 
opposing legions in the tug of war. This chance view 
gave direction to his life. But Adams and Jefferson, in 
the presence of Otis and Henry, were inspired with 
loftier impulses, and for nobler ends. 

On the fourth of September, 1774, the old Continental 
Congress of the United States met, for the first time, at 
Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia. It is not our intention 
to dwell here on the wonderful effect produced by Mr. 
Henry's eloquence in that body in the opening of its 
solemn session. Neither at present do we more than 
simply allude to his still more extraordinary speech made 
in the convention of delegates which assembled on the 
20th of March, 1775, in the old church at Richmond, 
Virginia. 

Those were scenes of stupendous interest which have 
already been sketched in the opening chapter on The 
Battle-Fields of Early American JEloqiience. It will 
be appropriate, however, in this place, to quote a por- 
tion of the Richmond speech, as a distinguished specimen 
of his style. 

"He had," he said, "but one lamp by which his feet 
were guided ; and that was the lamp of experience. 
He knew of no way of judging of the future, but by the 
past. And judging by the past, he wished to know 
what there had been in the conduct of the British min- 
istry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with 
which gentlemen had been pleased to solace themselves 



PATRICK HENRY. 257 

and the House ? Is it that insidious smile with which 
our petition has been lately received ? Trust it not, 
sir ; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not 
yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves 
how this gracious reception of our petition comports 
with those warlike preparations which cover our waters 
and darken our land ? Are fleets and armies necessary 
to a work of love and reconciliation ? Have we shown 
ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must 
be called in to win back our love ? Let us not deceive 
ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and 
subjugation — the last arguments to which kings resort. 
I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if 
its purpose be not to force us to submission ? Can 
gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it ? 
Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the 
world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and 
armies ? No, sir ; she has none. They are meant for 
us ; they can be meant for no other. They are sent 
over to bind and rivet upon us those chains, which the 
British ministry have been so long forging. And what 
have we to oppose to them ? Shall we try argument ? 
Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. 
Have we any thing new to offer upon the subject? 
Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light 
of which it is capable ; but it has been all in vain. 
Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication ? 
What terms shall we find, which have not been already 
exhausted ? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive our- 
selves longer. Sir, we have done every thing that 
could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming 



258 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

on. Wc have petitioned — we have remonstrated — we 
have supplicated — wc liavc prostrated ourselves before 
the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest 
the tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament. Our 
petitions Iiave been slighted; our remonstrances have 
produced additional violence and insult; our sup})lica- 
tions have been disregarded ; and we have been spurned, 
with contempt, I'rom tiie Toot of the throne. In vain, 
after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace 
and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. 
If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate 
those inestimable privileges for which we have been so 
long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the 
noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, 
and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon, 
until Ihe glorious object of our contest shall be obtained 
— we must fight! — I repeat it, sir, we must fight!! 
An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts, is all that is 
lelt us !" 

John Randolph said of l^atrick Henry, that he was 
Garrick and Shakspeare combined. That was the 
most elocjuent encomium ever pronounced on eloquence, 
and no doubt as much deserved by its object as by any 
iiuinaii being. His appeals to the heart were not less 
forcible than were the bolts of his invective or the 
deductions of his argument. 

His style of thought and expression seems to have 
been, formed much after the manner of the Hebrew 
prophets, and the unsoj)histicated orators of our western 
wilderness. His most j)iercing expressions in the famous 
speech just quoted are borrowed from the Bible, and 



PATRICK HENRY. 259 

their suggestive trains of association, more grand and 
impressive even than those which he uttered, are much 
hke the following extract from the Choctaw Chief, 
Pushmataha, who died at Washington, in 1824. "I 
shall die, but you will return to your brethren. As you 
go along the paths, you will see the flowers and hear 
the birds ; but Pushmataha will see them and hear them 
no more. When you come to your home, they will ask 
you, where is Pushmataha ? and you will say to them, 
he is no more. They will hear the tidings like the 
sound of the fall of a mighty oak in the stillness of the 
wood." 

Having previously held several high offices, both 
civil and military, Mr. Henry, on the 1st of July, 1776, 
was elected the first Republican Governor of Virginia, 
and was continued in that station, by an unanimous 
vote, until 1778. "On resigning the government," 
says his biographer, "he retired to Prince Edward 
County, and endeavored to cast about for the means of 
'extricating himself from his debts. At the age of fifty 
years, worn down by more than twenty years of arduous 
service in the cause of his country, eighteen of which 
had been occupied by the toils and tempests of the 
Rcvolutit)n, it was natural for him to wish for rest, and 
to seek some secure and placid port in which he might 
repose himself from the fatigues of the storm. This, 
however, was denied him ; and after having devoted 
the bloom of youth and the maturity of manhood to the 
good of his country, he had now in his old ago to 
provide for his family. He accordingly resumed the 



260 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

practice of the law, in which the powers of his elo- 
quence secured him constant employment." 

Mr. Henry was actively occupied in patriotic and 
professional toils through a long series of years. 

In his habits of living he was severely temperate and 
frugal. He seldom drank any thing but water, and fur- 
nished his table in the most simple manner. His morals 
were strict ; and as a Christian he was very decided, es- 
pecially in his mature life. 

Education among the Greeks was not effeminate. 
Themistocles says of himself that he had learned neither 
to tune the harp nor handle the lyre, but that he knew 
how to make a small and inglorious city both powerful 
and illustrious. He could not sleep for the irophies of 
Miltiades. In his boyhood he shunned puerile sports, 
and spent his time in severe self-discipline. Having 
been a poor and disinherited child, he achieved the 
highest honors in Athens, and for a season controlled 
the destinies of the civilized world. In like manner, 
Patrick Henry won, and worthily wore, the most exalted 
honors. He collected the first crop of volunteers in the 
South, after the battles of Lexington and Concord, and 
was the most efficient patriot in his section of the land. 

Probably no man ever passed through so long a series 
of public services with a reputation less tarnished. In 
the year 1794, he bade adieu to all professional toil, and 
retired to the bosom of his family, attended by the grati- 
tude,~ confidence, admiration, and love of his country. 

" It is said that there stood in the court, before his 
door, a large walnut tree, under whose shade it was his 
delight to pass his summer evenings, surrounded by his 



PATRICK HENRY. 261 

affectionate and happy family, and by a circle of neigh- 
bors who loved him almost to idolatry. Here he would 
disport himself with all the careless gayety of infancy. 
Here, too, he would sometimes warm the bosoms of the 
old, and strike fire from the bosoms of his younger 
heai'ers, by recounting the tales of other times; by 
sketching, with the boldness of a master's hand, those 
great historic incidents in which he had borne a part." 
Thus emploj^ed, in his sixtieth year, disease met him 
and began to waste away the mighty energies of his 
body and mind. He sank rapidly, but in the placid con- 
fidence inspired by Christian hopes, and on the sixth of 
June, 1799, a great man in Israel had fallen, Patrick 
Henry was no more. 

The great orator of Virginia, whose career we have 
so rapidly delineated, never worried his prey by darting 
on him javelins from afar ; he advanced directly up with 
raised sledge, and smote his victim between his two 
horns with a blow that felled him at once. The 
etTective speaker will be more intent on striking with 
force than with elegance ; wholly absorbed in his great 
purpose, he will not stop to polish a phrase when he 
should compel his antagonist to fall. He will make his 
weapon keen rather than glittering. 

There are two kinds of eloquence. The highest order 
flows dii'ectly from the soul, as from a perennial and pro- 
lific fountain. Its current is incessant and irresistible ; 
if opposed a moment, it accumulates its own chafing mass, 
and will inevitably crush the obstacles by which it is im- 
peded. The other multiplies its delicate threads around 
its object, betraying him into the meshes of a skilful net, 



2G2 0RAT0R3 OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

by the fascination of a look, in the meantime strength- 
ening every tiny bond until the victim is secured and 
tortured to death by a thousand mahgnant stings. 

Henry's mind was not disciphned into symmetry by 
severe science, nor was it embelUshed with the decora- 
tions of classical learning ; but massy fragments ol' ori- 
ginal thought frequently appear in the progress of his 
speech, like shattered colonnades and broken statues, 
hurled from pedestal and base, buried in common dust. 
He was richly endowed with that permeating imagina- 
tion which gives vitality to the body of thought, and 
which makes the fortune of every great master in the 
divine art of eloquence. He was imbued with that ve- 
hemence of conviction, that oratorical action, which 
modulates the tones, and tinges the visage with irresisti- 
ble power, and suggests to the rapt listener more than 
articulated language can express. His soul melted when 
he spoke, and there were tears in his voice which no 
heart could withstand. His argument grew luminous 
as it arose, like a majestic tree on fire, and its com- 
bustion shone with a splendor inextinguishable and 
unexcelled. 

The insipid prettiuess of rhetorical mechanism no 
more resembles the soul of true eloquence, than the 
unconscious quiverings of galvanized muscles resemble 
the spontaneous throbs of a living and impassioned 
heart. Sampson chose an uncouth weapon, but three 
hundred Philistines felt its Ibrce. 

It is necessary to bring into bold relief the natural 
grandeur of things by simplicity of expression. The 
orator must be familiar without vulgarity, original with- 



PATRICK HENRY. 263 

out eccentricity, natural and yet highly artistic, — in 
apparent carelessness " snatching a grace beyond the 
reach of art," — fluent in language, but elaborate in 
thought, speaking at once to the instincts that are most 
profound, as well as to those that are most superficial. 
Ordinarily, Henry's style was the natural current of his 
thought, and glided along in limpid, glowing abundance, 
as if it reflected the still beams of the sun. But when 
some exciting crisis occurred, his speech became impet- 
uous and rugged with scythes and daggers, like a Saxon 
war-chariot ; then his flashing bolts shot off" in every 
direction with the concussion of lightnings which in the 
same instant shine and kill. He drew the great masses 
of mankind closely around him by the exaltation of his 
sentiments ; he held them still more enthralled by the 
simplicity of his language. 

The April shower is grateful to the soft herbage, and 
the still snow falls gracefully to earth, but neither of 
these produce strong impressions on the beholder. 
On the contrary, when rugged clouds, fringed with elec- 
tric fires, and bufleted by terrific winds, pour down 
piei'cing hail and torrent rain, intermingled with thun- 
ders that shake the skies and astound the earth, then 
do men tremble unbidden in the presence of natural 
sublimity. 

Mr. Henry seldom used the pen, and has therefore 
left but little written eloquence authenticated by him- 
self To form our estimate of his powers, we have 
mainly to rely on the reports of those who had wit- 
nessed the wonders he wrought — those who had felt the 
magic of his action, trembled at the majesty of his voice, 



264 ouATous or the amimucan kkvouition. 

and caught the llnshiiigs of his eye, — who had been fas. 
ciiKited hy his smile, or repulsed l)y his ti-rrific iVown, 
and who always ibund themselves incompetent to express 
fully tlie power with which he impressed conviction. 
When all his great attributes were fully aroused, his 
language, like that ol' Pindar, burst forth with sjionta- 
neous force and splendid majesty. Ordinarily, his rea- 
soning was made obvious by the intense light of genius 
with which it was invested; and if, sometimes, his judg- 
ment seemed bewildered, it was not so much from ob- 
scurity of perception, as from profuseness of emotion ; 
like the throne of Milton's Heaven, his mind, when most 
excited, would grov/ "tlaik Irom excess of light." He 
himself intimated that his chief lamp was the inward 
light of reason, which is the brightest " ailluence of es- 
sence increate." When called upon the stage of public 
life, he trusted to tlie guidance of truth, patriotism, and 
justice, those primeval principles which " shine aloft as 
stars." The blazing brand of heaven which flashed 
u|)on the earth, and arrested the careering steeds of 
Diomed, was not more appalling to their affrighted 
driver, than were the awful denunciations which Henry 
hurled against tyranny and guilt. 

Grattan said of the Irish orator, Malone, that "when 
young, his eloquence was ocean in a storm ; when old, 
ocean in a calm ; but whether in a calm or storm, the 
same great element, the sublimest and most magnificent 
phenomenon of creation." Tradition and history speak 
in rapturous terms of Patrick Henry's eloquence, and 
some of his speeches, reported by cotemporaries, sub- 
stantiate his fame. But as well might one attempt to 



PATRICK HENRY. 265 

paint lightning with charcoal, as to tlelincate a soul like 
his in dull words. In order properly to appreciate his 
power, we 

*' — Should have seen him in the Campus Martins, — 
In the tribunal, — shaking all the tribes 
With mighty speech. His words seemed oracles, 
That pierced their bosoms : and each man would turn, 
And gaze in wonder on his neighbor's face, 
That with the like dumb wonder answer'd him : 
Then some would weep, some shout, some, deeper touch'd, 
Keep down the cry with motion of their hands, 
In fear but to have lost a syllable." 

We should have scon him when he knew that he spoke 
under the shadow of the scaffold, — when British cannon 
were booming in the North, and standing in the out- 
lawed assembly of Virginia, like a lion at bay, he caught 
the first cry of distress from Lexington and Bunker 
Hill, — with a generous devotion that made no reserve, 
and knew no fear, — with a voice solemn, tremulous 
with patriotic rage, and swelling over the thrilled audi- 
ence like a trumpet-call to arms, and with an eye flash- 
ing unutterable fire, he exclaimed — " Give me liberty, or 
give me death !" 



12 



CHAPTER X, 



RICHARD HENRY LEE, 

THE POLISHED STATESMAN. 

Mr. Lee was a dignified citizen and scholar whose 
profound erudition and captivating rhetoric were ren- 
dered very efficient in moulding the early institutions of 
our land. He was born in Westmoreland County, Vir- 
ginia, January 20, 1732. His juvenile studies were 
pursued in his father's house, but his more mature edu- 
cation was acquired in Yorkshire, England. Mr. Lee 
was noted for his assiduity as a student, and early be- 
came distinguished for his proficiency in the classics. 
He returned to his native land when about twenty years 
of age, and, as he possessed a large fortune, his time 
was mainly devoted to the improvement of his mind. 
Works of civil and political morality, history, law, and 
elegant literature were constantly perused by him with 
avidity, and their principles made effective in practical 
hfe. 

The first public service which Mr. Lee attempted, 
was in the capacity of captain of the volunteer com- 
panies which were raised in 1755, for the purpose of 
aiding the expedition under General Braddock. In his 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 267 

twenty-fifth year, he was appointed to a civil ofHce in 
his county, which attested the high personal considera- 
tion in which he was held. Soon after, he was chosen 
a delegate to the House of Burgesses, and thus began 
the political career which gave his name its chief 
renown. 

Mr. Lee was a republican of an early and rigid stamp. 
When, in 17G4, the declaratory Act was passed in the 
British Parliament, claiming the right to tax America, 
he was the first to bring forward the subject to the no- 
tice of the Assembly of which he was a member. A 
special committee having, in consequence been appoint- 
ed to draught an address to the King, a memorial to the 
House of Lords, and a remonstrance to the House of 
Commons, Mr. Lee, as chairman, prepared the first 
two papers. These, as his biographer remarks, "con- 
tain the genuine principles of the Revolution, and abound 
in the firm and eloquent sentiments of freemen." In 
1765, Patrick Henry introduced in the Virginia legisla- 
ture his famous resolutions against the Stamp-Act, 
which had just been passed by Parliament. Lee lent 
Henry's motion his zealous and powerful assistance. 
Shortly after the triumph gained on that occasion, Lee 
planned and effected an association "for the purpose of 
deterring all persons from accepting the oflfice of vendor 
of stamp paper, and for awing into silence and inactivi- 
ty those who might still be attached to the supremacy 
of. the mother country, and disposed to advocate the 
right of colony taxation." This I'esult the association 
bound themselves to attain, "at every hazard, and pay- 
ing no regard to danger or to death." 



268 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

The tax on tea, and the measure adopted by Parlia- 
ment in 1767, "to make provision for quartering a part 
of the regular army" at the expense of the colony, Lee 
exerted himself every way to oppose, perceiving, as he 
did, their despotic tendency, and feeling that a struggle 
for freedom was inevitable. In 1773, a plan was adopt- 
ed by the House of Burgesses, for the formation of corres- 
ponding committees to be organized by the legislatures 
of the several Colonies, and also that of corresponding 
clubs or societies, among the " lovers of liberty" through- 
out the Provinces, for the purpose of diffusing amongst 
the people a correct knowledge of their rights, of keep- 
ing them informed of every attempt to infringe them, 
and of rousing a spirit of resistance to all arbitrary 
measures. Of both these important suggestions Mr. 
Lee was the author. 

In 1774, the first general Congress assembled at 
Philadelphia. Mr. Lee was a delegate from Virginia. 
His labors during this session, and throughout his whole 
Congressional career, were unremitting and invaluable. 
In all the leading measures he took an active part, and 
was not less influential in the appeals which went 
abroad from his pen than in the counsels which came 
living from his lips. He was the author of many im- 
portant State papers, and the resolute defender of the 
boldest resistance against foreign aggression. The 
great motion of June 7, 1776, " that these United Colo- 
nies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British crown ; and that all political connection between 
them and the State of Great Britain, is, and ought to be 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 269 

totally dissolved," was drawn, introduced, and ably sup- 
ported by Mr. Lee. 

The speech delivered by him in defence of this motion 
is reported as follows : 

"Ought I not to begin by observing, that if we have 
reached that violent extremity, beyond which nothing 
can any longer exist between America and England, 
but either such war or such peace as are made between 
foi'eign nations ; this can only be imputed to the insa- 
tiable cupidity, the tyrannical proceedings, and the out- 
rages, for ten years reiterated, of the British ministers. 
What have we not done to restore peace, to re-establish 
harmony ? Who has not heard our prayers, and who is 
ignorant of our supplications ? They have wearied the 
universe. England alone was deaf to our complaints, 
and wanted that compassion towards us which we havo^ 
found among all other nations. And as at first our for- 
bearance, and then our resistance, have proved equally 
insufficient, since our prayers were unavailing, as well 
as the blood lately shed ; we must go further, and pro- 
claim our independence. Nor let any one believe that 
we have any other option left. The time will certainly 
come when the fated separation must take place, whether 
you will or no ; for so it is decreed by the very nature 
of things, the progressive increase of our population, the 
fertility of our soil, the extent of our territory, the in- 
dustry of our countrymen, and the immensity of the 
ocean which separates the two States. And if this be 
true, as it is most true, who does not see that the sooner 
it takes place the better ; and that it would be not only 
imprudent, but the height of folly, not to seize the pre- 



270 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

sent occasion, when British injustice has filled all hearts 
with indignation, inspired all minds with courage, united 
all opinions in one, and put arms in every hand ? And 
how long must we traverse three thousand miles of a 
stormy sea, to go and solicit of arrogant and insolent 
men, either counsels or commands to regulate our do- 
mestic affairs ? Does it not become a great, rich and 
powerful nation, as we are, to look at home, and not 
abroad, for the government of its own concerns ? And 
how can a ministry of strangers judge, with any dis- 
cernment, of our interests, when they know not, and 
when it little imports them to know, what is good for 
us and what is not ? The past justice of the British 
ministers should warn us against the future, if they 
should ever seize us again in their cruel claws. Since 
it has pleased our barbarous enemies to place before us 
the alternative of slavery or of independence, where is 
the generous-minded man and the lover of his country, 
who can hesitate to choose ? With these perfidious 
men no promise is secure, no pledges sacred. Let us 
suppose, which heaven avert, that we are conquered ; 
let us suppose an accommodation. What assurance 
have we of the British moderation in victory, or good 
faith in treaty ? Is it their having enlisted and let loose 
against us the ferocious Indians, and the merciless sol- 
diers of Germany ? Is it that faith, so often pledged and 
so often violated in the course of the present contest; this 
British faith, which is reputed more false than Punic? 
We ought rather to expect, that when we shall have 
fallen naked and unarmed into their hands, they will 
wreak upon us their fury and their vengeance ; they 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 271 

will load us with heavier chains, in order to deprive us 
not only of the power, but even of the hope of again re- 
covering our liberty. But I am willing to admit, although 
it is a thing without example, that the British govern- 
ment will Ibrget past offences and perform its promises, 
can we imagine, that after so long dissentions, after so 
many outrages, so many combats, and so much bloods 
shed, our reconciliation could be durable, and that every 
day, in the midst of so much hatred and rancor, would 
not afford some fresh subject of animosity ? The two 
nations are already separated in interest and affections ; 
the one is conscious of its ancient strength, the other 
has become acquainted with its newly-exerted force ; 
the one desires to rule in an arbitrary manner, the other 
will not obey even if allowed its privileges. In such a 
state of things, what peace, what concord, can be ex- 
pected? The Americans may become faithful friends 
to the English, but subjects, never. And even though 
union could be restored without rancor, it could not 
without danger. The wealth and power of Great 
Britain should inspire prudent men with fears for the 
future. Having reached such a height of grandeur that 
she has no longer any thing to dread from foreign 
powers, in the security of peace the spirit of her people 
will decay, manners will be corrupted, her youth will 
grow up in the midst of vice, and in this state of degene- 
ration, England will become the prey of a foreign enemy 
or an ambitious citizen. If we remain united with her, 
we shall partake of her corruptions and misfortunes, the 
more to be dreaded as they will be irreparable ; sepa- 
rated from her, on the contrary, as we are, we should 



272 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

neither have to fear the seductions of peace nor the 
dangers of war. By a declaration of our freedom, the 
perils would not be increased ; but we should add to the 
ardor of our defenders, and to the splendor of victory. 
Let us then take a firm step, and escape from this laby- 
rinth ; we have assumed the sovereign power, and dare 
not confess it ; we disobey a king, and acknowledge our- 
selves his subjects ; wage war against a people, on 
whom we incessantly protest our desire to depend. 
What is the consequence of so many inconsistencies ? 
Hesitation paralyzes all our measures ; the way we 
ought to pursue is not marked out; our generals are 
neither respected nor obeyed ; our soldiers have neither 
confidence nor zeal : feeble at home, and little considered 
abroad, foreign princes can neither esteem nor succor 
so timid and wavering a people. But independence 
once proclaimed, and our object avowed, more manly 
and decided measures will be adopted ; all minds will 
be fired by the greatness of the enterprise, the civil 
magistrates will be inspired with new zeal, the generals 
with fresh ardor, and the citizens with greater con- 
stancy, to attain so high and glorious a destiny. There 
are some who seem to dread the effects of this reso- 
lution. But will England, or can she, manifest against 
us greater rigor and rage than she has already displayed? 
She deems resistance against oppression no less rebellion 
than independence itself 

The Americans may become faithful friends to the 
English, but subjects, never. And even though union 
could be restored without rancor, it could not without dan- 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 273 

aer. And where are those formidable troops that are to 
subdue the Americans? What the Enghsh could not 
do, can it be done by Germans ? Are they more brave, 
or better disciplined ? The number of our enemies is 
increased; but our own is not diminished, and the bat- 
tles we have sustained have given us the practice of 
arms and the experience of war. 

America has arrived at a degree of power, which as- 
signs her a place among independent nations ; we are 
not less entitled to it than the English themselves. If 
they have wealth, so also have we ; if they are brave 
so are we ; if they are more numerous, our population 
will soon equal theirs ; if they have men of renown as 
well in peace as in war, we likewise have such ; political 
revolutions produce great, brave, and generous spirits. 
From what we have already achieved in these painful 
beo^innings, it is easy to presume what we shall hereafter 
accomplish ; for experience is the source of sage coun- 
sels, and liberty is the mother of great men. 

Have you not seen the enemy driven from Lexington 
by thirty thousand citizens, armed and assembled in one 
day ? Already their most celebrated generals have 
yielded, in Boston, to the skill of ours ; already their 
seamen, repulsed from our coasts, wander over the 
ocean, where they are the sport of tempests, and the 
prey of famine. Let us hail the favorable omen, and 
fight, not for the sake of knowing on what terms we are 
to be the slaves of England, but to secure ourselves a 
free existence, — to found a just and independent govern- 
ment. Animated by liberty, the Greeks repulsed the in- 
12* 



274 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

numerable army of Persians ; sustained by the love of 
independence, the Swiss and the Dutch humbled the 
power of Austria by memorable defeats, and conquered 
a rank among nations. The sun of America also shines 
upon the heads of the brave ; the point of our weapons 
is no less formidable than theirs; here also the same 
union prevails, the same contempt of dangers and of 
death, in asserting the cause of our country. 

Why then do we longer delay, why still deliberate ? 
Let this most happy day give birth to the American 
republic. Let her arise, not to devastate and conquer, 
but to re-establish the reign of peace and of the laws. 
The eyes of Europe are fixed upon us ; she demands of 
us a living example of freedom, that may contrast, by 
the felicity of the citizens, with the ever-increasing 
tyranny which desolates her polluted shores. She in- 
vites us to prepare an asylum, where the unhappy may 
find solace, and the persecuted repose. She entreats us 
to cultivate a propitious soil, where that generous plant 
"which first sprung up and grew in England, but is now 
withered by the poisonous blasts of Scottish tyranny, 
may revive and flourish, sheltering under its salubrious 
and interminable shade, all the unfortunate of the human 
race. 

This is the end presaged by so many omens ; by our 
first victories, by the present ardor and union, by the 
flight of Howe, and the pestilence which broke out 
amongst Dunmore's people, by the very winds which 
baffled the enemy's fleets and transports, and that terri- 
ble tempest which engulphed seven hundred vessels 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 275 

upon the coast of Newfoundland. If we are not this 
day wanting in our duty to our countiy, the names of 
the American legislators will be placed, by posterity, at 
the side of those of Theseus, of Lycurgus, of Romulus, 
of Numa, of the three Williams of Nassau, and of all 
those whose memory has been, and will be for ever, dear 
to virtuous men and good citizens." 

The address which, by the direction of Congress, Mr. 
Lee drew up in 1775, on behalf of the twelve United 
Colonies, to the inhabitants of Great Britain, is a mas- 
terly production, and will continue to the end of time 
an imperishable monument to his patriotism and elo- 
quence. 

Having enumerated the wrongs endured by the Colo- 
nies, and defended the measures of resistance by them 
employed, the Address closes with the following solemn 
adjuration : 

"If you have no regard to the connection that has for 
ages subsisted between us; if you have forgot the 
wounds we have received fighting by your side for the 
extension of the empire ; if our commerce is not an 
object below your consideration ; if justice and human- 
ity have lost their influence on your hearts ; still, mo- 
tives are not wanting to excite your indignation at the 
measures now pursued ; your wealth, your honor, your 
liberty are at stake. 

" Notwithstanding the distress to which we are re- 
duced, we sometimes forget our own afflictions, to anti- 
cipate and sympathize in yours. We grieve that rash 
and inconsiderate councils should precipitate the de- 



276 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

struotion of an empire, which has been the envy and 
admiration of ages ; and call God to witness that we 
would part with our property, endanger our lives, and 
sacrifice every thing but liberty, to redeem you from 
ruin. 

" A cloud hangs over your heads and ours ; ere this 
reaches you, it may probably burst upon us ; let us 
entreat heaven to avert our ruin, and the destruction 
that threatens our friends, brethren, and countrymen, 
on the other side of the Atlantic !" 

As chairman of the committee appointed for that 
purpose, it was also Mr. Lee's privilege to furnish the 
commissions and instructions which invested George 
Washington with the command of the American army. 
In 1780, lie retired from his seat in Congress, and de- 
clined returning to it until 178 4. In the interval, he 
served in the Assembly of Virginia, and, at the head of 
the militia of his county, protected it from the incursions 
of the enemy. In 1784, he was chosen president of Con- 
gress by an unanimous vote, but withdrew at the end of 
the year. In 1792, his health compelled him to retire al- 
together from public life, and on June 19th, 1794, he 
died. 

Mr. Lee was a polished gentleman. His mental 
accomplishments were richly diversified, and his man- 
ners were of courtly elegance. He had more talent 
than genius. In the pompous regularity of insipid 
elegance, and punctilious mediocrity, orators elaborated 
in the schools are more distinguished for the fewness of 
their faults, than the multitude and originality of their 
beauties. No enthusiasm, no blaze of imagination, no 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 277 

weighty arguments irradiate their speeches with flash- 
ing splendors. 

Lee's eloquence was like a beautiful river, meandering 
through variegated and elegant scenes, but which never 
inundates its banks nor bursts its barriers. He was 
not, like Patrick Henry, a mountain torrent, springing 
from exalted sources, and dashing away every thing in 
its irresistible career. 

But Lee was a fine rhetorician and a sagacious 
debater. He had the happy faculty of throwing oil on 
the agitated sea. When the Continental Congress met 
in Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774, k is 
said that silence, awful and protracted, preceded " the 
breaking of the last seal,'" and that astonishment and 
applause filled the house when this was done by Patrick 
Henry. The excitement consequent on that wonderful 
effort mi-ght have subsided into lassitude and despon- 
dency, had not Mr. Lee perceived " the quiver on every 
lip, the gleam in every eye." With the quickness of 
intuition he saw the crisis and happily attempted to 
turn the mass of agitated feeling to great practical 
good. He arose, and the sweetness of his language, 
and harmony of his tones, soothed, but did not suppress, 
the tide of tumultuous emotion swelling in every breast. 
With the most persuasive eloquence, he demonstrated 
that there was but one hope for the country, and 
that lay in the energy of immediate and united resis- 
tance. 

Mr. Lee was undoubtedly a copious and eloquent 
speaker. Some of his admirers called him " the Ameri- 
can Cicero," but, unfortunately, none of his popular 



278 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

speeches extant, justify this comparison. He certainly- 
occupied a high grade in oratorical excellence, but, 
perhaps, not the highest. 

In the Gallery of Natural History at Florence, there 
is a fine Venus in wax, an elegant imitation of life, 
which you may deliberately take down in parts and 
study at your leisure, but in which model there is no 
throbbing heart. Speakers abound of the same stamp. 
Their language is correct, but powerless ; their illustra- 
tions are pretty, but dry. There are polished phrases 
in abundance, but what is wanting is animus, soul. 
The body of their speech bears no vital complexion, its 
circulation is water-colored, and not warm, vivifying 
blood. Such a speaker does not animate his subject 
with the power of self-impulsion, but laboriously drags 
it after him, as one would a steamless locomotive. He 
has not those powerful touches of deep feeling which 
act like a talisman upon the sympathies of an audience 
all- aroused. He lacks the inspiration of true oratorical 
genius, that earnestness and sincerity which often 
advantageously supply the place of copious erudition 
and elaborate finish. 

Many speakers remind us of the Apollo Belvidere 
seen in a wintry morning, glittering all over with frost ; 
it is a fine form, symmetrical as possible, and as cold. 
When a man withdraws himself from the direct agency 
of human affections, and lives in abstract intellect alone, 
he may be an adroit machinist in working out astute 
propositions, but he can never exert a wide and effi- 
cient control over the popular mind. His is not that 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 279 

"Eloquence, that charms and burns, 
Startles, soothes, and wins, by turns." 

He only is a true orator who has the power of 
commanding intellects and hearts with simultaneous 
influence on both ; drawing them with the irresistible 
magic of sympathy — penetrating them with deep emo- 
tion and lofty thought. Such an orator unites in 
himself all the blandishments of art, all the force of 
feeling, and all the dignity of wisdom. The spirit of 
eloquence is no>l limited to any particular form, but 
adapts itself to every variety of time, class, and occasion. 
With logicians, it argues ; with mathematicians, it 
demonstrates; with philosophers, it teaches ; with poets, 
it chants ; with the mass of the people, it talks in 
language and sentiments graduated to the capacities 
and tastes of each. It can conceal the sternest truth 
under the veil of graceful allegory, or cause the repulsive 
skeletons of bony dialectics to assume the graceful form 
and hues of poetic life. Under all circumstances, the 
spirit we speak of is full of energetic vitality and is 
bodied forth in "action, utterance, and the power of 
speech, to move men's minds." 

The above remarks would indicate the importance of 
uniting strong emotions to strong arguments. Mr. Lee 
was skillful in stating the terms of a question, and was 
often lucid in the exposition of facts, but his manner of 
address was not of that resistless order which makes the 
speaker and his speech to be forgotten in the subject. 
His fluency of language was almost preternatural ; its 



280 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

perpetual flow was like a rivei', and like Pactolus, its 
current was often enriched with glittering gold. He 
was not wanting in elegance, but perhaps he lacked 
force. He was a great and useful patriot, but not of the 
most exalted rank in the forum, who speak in tones 
of power, as cataracts "blow their trumpets from the 
steeps." 

Eloquence is not something to be put on from with- 
out, but to be put out from within. It is manliness and 
not mannerism that makes the orator. Manner is 
something artificial, eloquence is natural, the external 
manifestation of the inmost soul. When one feels deep- 
ly he will be felt; the popular mind will recognize and 
revere him as quick as flesh feels fire. "The faculties 
of the orator are judgment and imagination : and reason 
and eloquence, the product of these faculties, must work 
on the judgment and feelings of his audience for the at- 
tainment of his end. The speaker who addresses the 
judgment alone, may be argumentative, but never can 
be eloquent; for argument instructs without interesting, 
and eloquence interests without convincing ; but ora- 
tory is neither; it is the compound of both; it conjoins 
the feelings and opinions of men ; it speaks to the pas- 
sions through the mind, and to the mind, through the 
passions; and leads its audience to its just purpose by 
the combined and powerful agency of human reason 
and human feeling." 

It has been elegantly remarked that " a good style is 
like the crystal of a watch, attracting attention, not to 
itself, but to what is beneath it." Refined sensibility 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 281 

detracts nothing from the utihty of rugged strength, but 
rather augments its worth; as Apollo found a rough 
shell on the sea-shore, and with a delicate fibre formed 
it into a lyre. Indeed, we know that it was the practice 
of some of the eloquent Romans, and of all Athenian 
speakers, to learn from dramatists and musicians to im- 
part graceful ease to their delivery, and modulation to 
their periods. 

" Thus was beauty sent from Heaven, 
The lovely ministress of truth and good 
In this dark world ; for truth and good are one, 
And beauty dwells in them and they in her, 
With like participation ; wherefore then, 
sons of earth! would ye dissolve the tie ?" 

The triumphs of true eloquence, the most august 
manifestations of power on earth, are never seen 
except when the orator comes forth in the simple 
majesty of truth, overpowered with the weight of his 
convictions, and the momentous import of his theme. 
Under such circumstances neither speaker nor hearer 
is much occupied with polish and prettiness ; the 
grand question is, what is to be said, and how shall 
it be most forcibly expressed. There will be a back- 
ground of skillful arrangement, coloring and decora- 
tion ; but that which is brought into boldest relief, 
and made to absorb the profoundest attention, is the 
matter at issue. Entering with whole heart and soul 
into the subject of his discourse, the speaker transports 
with his pathos, fascinates with the pictures of his im- 
agination, melts masses of listeners with gushes of ten- 



282 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

derness, and moves all before him on the impetuous and 
resistless tide of his arguments. 

"Now with a fjiant's might 

He heaves the ponderous thought, 
Now pours the storm of eloquence 
With scathing lightning fraught." 




AJL.IEXAJ^niDIE[f3 HHiXMaiL'irttDH 




CHAPTER XI 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 

THK MASTKU OK rOLITICAL HAIJACITY. 

Patriots of exulted worth appeared in the Colonial 
period of our history, and signalized their respective 
merits in achieving enterprises of comprehensive and 
enduring utility. Tiicir successors of Revolutionary 
renown were no less dignified in talent and untarnished 
in worth. Looking at the era of the formation and 
adoption of the Constitution of these United States, and 
the civil administration of Washington, next to the 
great President himself no name shines fairer than that 
of Alexander- Hamilton. He was born January 11th, 
1757, in the island of Nevis the most beautiful of the 
British West Indies. His father was a Scotchman, his 
mother a French lady, descended from that noble race, 
the Huguenots. This happy blending of contrasted 
elements in the original source of his blood ancj char- 
acter, solidity and enthusiasm, sagacity to project 
theories and I'acility in their execution, will be exem- 
plified in all his subse<iuent career. The father was a 
merchant, but his business was disastrous, and he died 
in penury at St. Vincents. The mother possessed 



284 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

elegant manners and a strong intellect, which made a 
vivid impression on her son, though she, too, died when 
he was but a child. 

Like most men who are destined to become truly 
great, young Hamilton was early left to butl'et adverse 
storms and in the midst of difficulties to be the archi- 
tect of his own fortunes. By the favor of some persons 
related to his mother, the otherwise unprotected child 
was taken to Santa Cruz, where he received the rudi- 
ments of early education. He soon learned to speak 
and write the French language fluently, and was taught 
to repeat the Decalogue in Hebrew, at the school of a 
Jewess, when so small that he was placed standing by 
her side on a table. But his education at this period 
was conducted chiefly under the supervision of the 
Rev. Dr. Knox, a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman, 
who gave to the mind of his aspiring pupil a religious 
bias as lasting as his life. In 1769, he was placed as a 
clerk in the counting-house of Mr. Nicholas Cruger, a 
wealthy and highly respectable merchant of Santa Cruz. 
By his skill and assiduity as a clerk, young Hamilton 
soon won the attention and confidence of his patron, 
and at the same time betrayed in his favorite studies 
and private correspondence an ambition that soared far 
above his mercantile pursuits. Before he was thirteen 
years old, he wrote as follows to a young friend at 
school : 

" I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk, to 
which my fortune condemns me, and would willingly 
risk my life, though not my character, to exalt my 
station : I mean, to prepare the way for futurity." 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 285 

Herein gleams the true fire of a noble youth, love of 
fame and the strongest attachment to untarnished 
integrity, guarantees of splendid succcess, which in this 
instance were never disproved by facts. 

While in Mr. Cruger's office, the predestined states- 
man appropriated every hour he could command from 
recreation and repose, to mathematics, ethics, chemistry, 
biography, history, and knowledge of every kind. Some 
of his youthful compositions were pubHshed, and their 
promise was so extraordinary that his relatives and 
friends resolved to send him to New York for the 
purpose of maturing his education. He arrived in this 
country in October, 1772, and was placed at a grammar 
school in New Jersey, under the instruction of Francis 
Barber, of Elizabethtown, who afterward became a 
distinguished oflicer in the American service. At the 
close of 1773, Hamilton entered King's (now Columbia) 
College, where he soon "gave extraordinary displays 
of genius and energy of mind." 

In college Hamilton never relaxed the severe appli- 
cation to study which his natural tastes and glowing 
ambition required ; nor was he unmindful of the storm 
gathering beyond the quiet cloisters wherein he prosecu- 
ted scientific research and classic lore with hallowed 
deHght. His penetrating mind, versatile pen, and power- 
ful living tones were from the first employed in defending 
colonial opposition to the acts of the British Parliament. 
In December, 1774, and February, 1775, he wrote 
anonymously several elaborate pamphlets in favor 
of the pacific measures of defence recommended by 
Congress. 



286 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

He suggested at that early day the pohcy of giving 
encouragement to domestic manufactures, as a sure 
means of lessening the need of external commerce. He 
anticipated ample resources at home, and among other 
things, observed that several of the southern colonies 
were so favorable in their soil and climate to the growth 
of cotton, that such a staple alone, with due cultivation, 
in a year or two would afford products sufficient to 
clothe the whole continent. He insisted upon our 
unalienable right to the steady, uniform, unshaken 
security of constitutional freedom ; to the enjoyment 
of trial by jury ; and to the right of freedom from 
taxation, except by our own immediate representatives, 
and that colonial legislation was an inherent right, 
never to be abandoned or impaireil. 

In this pamphlet controversy, young Hamilton en- 
countered Doctor Cooper, principal of the college, and 
many of the most distinguished tories of the land. 
When the authorship of the youthful champion was 
proclaimed, all classes were astonished to learn such 
profound principles and wise policy from so young an 
oracle. By his extraordinary writings and patriotic 
influence he early deserved and received the appella- 
tion of the "Vindicator of Congress." 

The country was at length compelled to plunge into 
war, and the struggle for emancipation from British 
domination had already conunenced. The letter that 
announced the battle of Lexingto-n to the New-Yorkers, 
concluded with these w^ords: "The crimson fountain 
has opened, and God only knows when it will be closed." 

Young Hamilton organized a military corps, mostly 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 287 

of fellow students, who practised their daily drill early 
in the morning, before the commencement of their col- 
lege studies. They assumed the name of " Hearts of 
Oak," and wore a green uniform, surmounted by a 
leathern cap, on which was inscribed " Freedom or 
Death." Early and late our young hero was busy, not 
only in promoting measures of resistance, but in master- 
ing the science of political economy, the laws of com- 
merce, the balance of trade, and the circulating medium ; 
so that when these topics became prominent matters of 
speculation, in the light of new organizations for the 
general good, no one was more prompt and lucid in his 
demonstrations than Hamilton. 

In March, 1776, he abandoned academic retirement, 
and entered the army as captain of a provincial com- 
pany of artillery. In this capacity he brought up the 
rear of the army in the retreat from Long Island. He 
was in the action at White Plains, on the 28th of Octo- 
ber, 1776 ; and with his company of artillery was firm 
and heroical in the retreat through New Jerse}', on 
which occasion he repelled the progress of the British 
troops on the banks of the Raritan. He fought at the 
head of his brave company at Trenton and Princeton, 
and continued in the same command until the first of 
March, 1777, when, having attracted the admiration of 
Washington, he was appointed his aid-de-camp, with 
the rank of colonel. From this time, he continued until 
February, 1781, the inseparable companion of the Com- 
mander-in-chief, and was always consulted by him, and 
by all the leading public functionaries, on the most im- 
portant occasions. He acted as his first aid at the bat- 



288 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ties of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth ; and 
at his own request, at the siege of Yorktown, he led the 
detachment which carried by assault one of the strongest 
outworks of the foe. 

Many fine qualities were combined in Hamilton to 
render him useful to all, and especially to make him, in 
the service of Washington, what that great man de- 
clared he was, " his principal and most confidential aid." 
His accurate and comprehensive knowledge of military 
science, placed him in the first rank of tacticians ; his 
courteous manners rendered his general intercourse 
with the army a delight to all ; his familiarity with the 
French language won the especial attachment of all the 
French division of our army, making him the constant 
favorite in particular of the Marquis Lafayette and the 
Baron Steuben. 

Never, perhaps, in the history of nations was a youth 
of twenty called to such precious honors and responsi- 
bilities as those which Hamilton, at that early age, was 
called to assume as the private secretary and confiden- 
tial friend of Washington. On none did the arm of that 
great man more habitually lean for support than on this 
erudite and patriotic youth, and by no other earthly 
power was he more fortified than by him. It is in vain 
that we look through the gallery of universal history to 
find a fit companion to this picture of early wisdom and 
unblemished honor, standing forth as the palladium of 
national safety in the days of greatest peril. We do not 
mean that he stood alone, but only that he was unex- 
celled. Among the many willing and devoted hearts of 
tliat heroic age, in the camp and in the cabinet, patriots 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 289 

whom danger and suffering could not appall, nor treason 
or despair divert from their high enterprise, the fame of 
no one is brighter, and the path of none more exalted and 
pure, than that traced by Hamilton. This position we 
will attempt to substantiate by hastily reviewing first his 
merits as an orator, and secondly as a statesman. 

Hamilton's first political speech to a popular assembly 
was delivered at " the great meeting in the fields," as it 
was called, and was occasioned by a call to choose dele- 
gates to the first Congress. At that time he was a stu- 
dent in King's College, and was every way exceedingly 
juvenile in appearance. Being unexpectedly called 
upon, his effort was unpremeditated, and at first he fal- 
tered and hesitated, overawed by the impressive scene 
before him ; but his youthful countenance, his slender 
form and novel aspect awakened curiosity and excited 
universal attention. An immense multitude were as- 
tonished and electrified by " the infant orator," as they 
called him. After a discussion, clear, forcible, and strik- 
ing, of the great principles involved, he depicted in 
glowing colors the long continued and constantly aggra- 
vated oppressions of the mother-country. Touching 
this point he burst forth in a strain of bold and thrilling 
eloquence. 

" The sacred rights of mankind," were his words, 
" are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or 
musty records ; they are written as with a sunbeam in 
the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of Di- 
vinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by 
mortal power." 

He insisted on the duty of resistance, pointed out the 



290 OUATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

means and certainty of success, and described the waves 
of rebellion sparklini^ with fire, and washing back on 
the shores of England the wrecks of her power, her 
wealth, and her glory. Under this spontaneous burst 
of mature eloquence from lips so youthful, the vast mul- 
titude first sank in awe and surprise, and then rose with 
irrepressible astonishment : 

'■ Down sank 
Instant all tumult, broke abruptly ofT 
Fierce voice and clash of arms : so mute and deep 
Settled the silence, the low sound was heard 
Of distant waterfall, and the acorn drop 
From the green arch above." 

The death-like silence ceased as he closed, and re- 
peated huzzas resounded to the heavens. 

Soon after tiiis memorable event, young Hamilton 
entered upon that military career which we have already 
sketched down to the close of the Revolutionary con- 
flict. But the belter qualities of his head and heart 
were developed more especially in powerful speech, 
during those five years of sorrow, and. almost despair, 
which succeeded, beginning with the close of the mar- 
tial contest in 1782, and extending to the adoption of 
the Constitution in 1787. This period of our history is, 
perhaps, least attractive to the general reader, but one 
which in fact is most worthy of being explored. 
During these five years, Hamilton was a prominent 
advocate for wise freedom in the four deliberative 
bodies which most powerfully determined the future 
destinies of the country. These were, the Congress of 
the Confederation, in 1782 and 1783, which closed the 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 291 

war and ratified the definitive treaty ; the Convention 
at Annapolis, in 1786, that laid the foundation of the 
General Convention adopting the Constitution ; the 
Legislature of the State of New York in January, 1787, 
in which the battle of State rights was fought against 
the definitive treaty ; and lastly, the General Conven- 
tion which met in Philadelphia, in May of the same 
year, and by which the Federal Constitution was con- 
structed and adopted. In each of these great and 
important bodies ho appeared as an influential leader, 
always relied on as among the most safe, and universally 
esteemed for the clearness and force with which he 
originated and sustained great measures of national 
policy. 

In December, 1780, Hamilton married the second 
daughter of Major General Schuyler, and in the Feb- 
ruary following, he retired from the family of General 
Washington, to become more completely absorbed 
in forensic toil. He took his seat in Congress in 
November, 1782, and continued there until the autumn 
of 1783. The legislators of that body h:id many diffi- 
cult and exhausting duties to perform. Army discon- 
tents were to be appeased ; complicated claims to be 
settled; and if possible, the half-pay of innumerable 
patriots to be obtained. Hamilton renounced his own 
demands, accruing from long martial service, that he 
might freely plead the cause of his brethren in arms. 
On the 6th of December, 1782, he moved and carried 
an important resolution on national finance ; the begin- 
ning of his invaluable labors in behalf of an improved 
revenue ; the sinking fund and assumption of the State 



292 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

debts ; a currency well defined and the establishment 
of a national coinage. 

Immediately after Hamilton entered Congress all its 
proceedings assumed a more vigorous tone and exalted 
character. Grievances were redressed, and effective 
measures of general interest were promptly passed. 
His report in answer to Rhode Island, and many other 
documents and speeches in behalf of a more solid and 
effective union, gave a new and more cheering aspect 
to the whole face of public affairs. His influence in 
guiding the terms of peace was very great, and especially 
was he efficient in rendering the fruits of peace in the 
highest degree profitable to all classes of his countrj^men. 

In the brief Convention at Annapolis, Hamilton fur- 
nished the original draught of the report which was 
adopted and sent to the four States therein represented, 
namely, Vii-ginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New 
York. 

In the New York Legislature of 1787, among other 
measures, we are told the following are due to him : 
The Bankrupt Act and amendment of its criminal 
code; the establishment of the State university and its 
general system of public instruction, then a novel 
scheme ; and above all, his influence was pre-eminent 
in carrying into effect the provisions of the definitive 
treaty, in opposition to the dominant party, to many 
existing State laws, and to strong popular feeling 
against it. 

In the Convention of 1787, his labors were undoubt- 
edly the most important of all : to these we shall revert 
when we come to consider their author's statesmanship. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 293 

It is believed tiiat Hamilton's eloquence consisted in 
a happy combination of a high sense of honor, a clear 
but energetic understanding, and an acute sensibility. 

In the first place, he possessed a high sense of honor, 
which fortified all his powers, and crowned him with 
the majesty of a great and useful orator. We may 
apply to this master mind what Pope said of the distin- 
guished English statesman : 

" Argyle, the State's whole thunder born to wield, 
And shake alike the senate and the held." 

The biographer of Hamilton, speaking of his father's 
powers as displayed in the Congress of 1782, laments, 
in common with the whole country, that so little remains 
to perpetuate the memory of it. 

" Of the distinctive features," says he, " of that com- 
manding and winning . eloquence, the wonder and 
delight of friend and foe, but of which no perfect 
reports are preserved, a delineation will not now be 
attempted. It suffices here to observe how deeply his 
modes of thinking imparted to the proceedings of this 
body a new tone and character. And those who re- 
mark in these pages the sentiments with which he 
regarded the demands of the army, how solemn his 
respect for the requirements of justice, how incessant 
and undespairing his efforts to fulfil them, can best 
image to themselves with what living touches and 
thrilhng appeals he called up before this Senate their 
accumulated wrongs, and with what deep emotions and 
almost holy zeal he urged, he enforced, he implored. 



294 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

with all the ardor of his bold and generous nature, an 
honest fulfilment of the obligations to public fiitli." 

But a clear and energetic understanding, vivified and 
ennobled by acute sensibility, were traits equally promi- 
nent in the constitution of Hamilton's mind. His 
heart was as generous as his will was resolute. He 
seems to have ever been the object of passionate admira- 
tion to those who knew him best. A senior officer in 
Washington's staff conferred on him the epithet of 
" The Little Lion," a term of endearment by which he 
was familiarly known among his bosom friends to the 
close of his life. 

" Hamilton's great characteristics," says his son, 
"were firmness and gentleness. His spirit was as bold 
as it was sympathizing. He hated oppression in all its 
forms, and resisted it in every shape. Governed by the 
highest principles, with them his lofty nature would ad- 
mit no compromise ; for he was accustomed to view 
infractions of them on all their remote consequences. 
Hence his denunciations of tyranny were universal and 
unsparing." It was this " lion-like" fearlessness of heart 
that infused into the whole of Hamilton's public life that 
chivalric tone which so prominently mai'ked it. Whether 
at the bar, in the cabinet, or on the field, he was still the 
generous foe and the peerless knight, " sans peur et sans 
reproche." Wherever wrong was to be redressed, or 
rights vindicated, Hamilton stood foremost. Wherever 
the strong arm was needed, or the gallant heart, or the 
eloquent tongue, to smite down the oppressor, or to raise 
up the fallen, the first name invoked l^y the sufierer was 
that of Hamilton. It is one of the pleasing character- 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 295 

istic incidents recorded by his son of iiis professional 
career, that his very first appearance as an advocate 
was in defence of one in name a foe, who, having been 
through the war an adherent to the enemy, had fallen 
mider the hated proscription of the State itself The 
trial, too, was held under circumstances sufficient to have 
daunted a less determined mind, irrespective of the inex- 
perience of the pleader ; " while the strife of the fierce con- 
test was recent," are the words of his son, " in the midst 
of a dilapidated and yet disordered city, where all around 
were beheld the ravages of the invader, in a hall of jus- 
tice desecrated and marred by the excesses of its late 
occupants, a licentious soldiery. On one side was the 
attorney-general of the State, armed with all its authority 
to sustain its laws, representing the passions of an in- 
flamed community. . . . On the other stood Ham- 
ilton, resting on the justice of this mighty cause, the 
good faith of the nation. The result was honorable 
alike to the court and the advocate. It was the triumph 
of right over usurpation." But such triumphs were 
often enjoyed in after life by this noble, dauntless, and 
eloquent pleader. His son just glances at a celebrated 
instance, when, in giving the touching history of his 
father's return to the city of New York, after its evacua- 
tion by the enemy, he says: "Cordial were the greet- 
ings of this grateful city as it welcomed in its once 
"stranger boy" the now powerful advocate of mercy to 
its apprehensive denizens, hastening to shield them from 
persecution for the venal offence of mistaken policy." 
Thus, in the powerful eloquence of their strong foe, the 
vanquished found a panoply to protect, where they 



296 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

dreaded a destroying sword. It is added, that on his 
return from the seat of the legislature, whither he had 
hastened to defeat an unjust bill that would have brought 
ruin on the defenceless tories, he sternly refused from 
them a purse of some thousand dollars, made up for him 
in his absence by his grateful but unknown clients ; re- 
fused it with the magnanimous reply, that " the cause of 
national honor was not to be paid for." It was this 
happy union of largeness and loftiness of soul that made 
Hamilton the model-advocate of his own and of every 
age. 

One who wrote on the character of this renowned 
statesman lawyer says : " He was a great favorite with 
the New York merchants ; and he justly deserved to be 
so, for he had uniformly proved himself to be an enlight- 
ened, intrepid and persevering friend to the commercial 
prosperity of the country. He was a great master of 
commercial law, as well as of the principles of interna- 
tional jurisprudence. There were no deep recesses of the 
science which he did not explore. He would occasion- 
ally draw from the fountains of the civil law, and illus- 
trate and enforce the enlightened decisions of Mansfield 
by the severe judgment of Emerigon and the lucid com- 
mentaries of Valin. In short, he conferred dignity and 
high reputation upon the profession, of which he was in- 
disputably the first of the first rank, by his indefatigable 
industry, his thorough researches, his logical powers, his 
solid judgment, his winning candor, and his matchless 
eloquence." 

Colonel Hamilton was as forcible in speech as he was 
substantial. His arguments were like artillery of heavy 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 297 

calibre, planted on a commanding position, and worked 
with an agility that captures or destroys every point. 
His ponderous metal, put into nimble and fatal execu- 
tion, reminds one of Schiller's description : 

" Straight forth goes 
The lightning's path, and straight the fearful path 
Of the cannon-hall. Direct it Hies, and rapid 
Shattering that it may reach, and shattering what it reaches." 

The momentum of his thought was as great as its 
magnitude and value, all of which traits in him were 
seldom or never excelled. The severe grandeur with 
which he sketched the outline of his subject, and the 
elaborate beauty with which he wrought out its perfect 
execution, remind one of the rule which Tintoretto 
adopted : " I follow Michael Angelo for my designs, and 
Titian for my coloring." When impetuous feeling is 
the concomitant of lucid and legitimate argument, the 
passion of eloquence becomes contagious in its pos- 
sessor, and is irresistible in its power of fascination. 
Hamilton's imagination " was strengthened by discipline 
and fed with truth ; the ardor of his heart melted his 
towering understanding into streams of inexhaustible 
richness and perennial How ; so that his limpid and irre- 
sistible thought was poured forth like some majestic 
river, whose current, deep, vast and waveless, rolls past 
us silently, but will roll for ever." 

Let us, in the second place, glance more particularly 

at the character of Hamilton, considered as a statesman. 

We have referred to the early period when he, then a 

stripling youth of seventeen, went forth to battle and 

13* 



298 OUAI'dltS Ol' Till", AMKIUCAN T( KVOI.nTION. 

sjx)ke with so much success in Uu^ L!;rc;tl. ni(>eliiij^ held 
■where now sl;ui(ls the I'nrk in New York. It \\;is ;it. the 
same period that lie sent I'oiMh liis first iTcorded appeals 
throui^ii the press, (MHing to union and pointing to f^lory 
"through," to use liis own words, " the steady, unilorm, 
unshiiken security o\' C(i/isli////i(i/utl f/rci/oz/i ;'' adchng, 
with that noble enthusiasm which was liis habitual in- 
spiration and chief rc'ward, "1 would die to preserve the 
laws upon a. solid loundatioii ; but take away liberty, 
and the lounilation is desti'oyed." 

It would bo dillicult to over-estimate the value of 
llamilton's servients duriiiij; the lono; jX'riod he act(>(l as 
first aid and conddcniial secrt>tar>' to the ( 'omniai ider- in- 
chief of the Amei'icaii army. The [)iinci|»al portions of 
the voluminous correspondence lell on him, and the most 
elaborate comnmnicafions arc understood to have been 
made essentially by his assistance. "The pen of our 
countr}',"' says Tioup, was held by Hamilton; and lor 
dignity of manner, ])ith of m;itter and elegance of style, 
General Washington's Ictteis ai'e unrivalled in military 
annals." Tlu^ public' docunieiils drawn u]) by this 
secretary and by his associates richly deserve the enco- 
mium iironounced on them by liord Chatham, in the 
House of Lords; "When you consider their decency, 
firmness and wisdom," said he, "you cannot but respect 
their cause, and wish to make it your o\\ n. I'\)r mv- 
sell, 1 must declare and avow, that in all u\\ reading, 
and it has beiMi my favorite ])ursuit, that for solidity of 
reasoning, force ol" sagacity and wisdom of conclusion, 
under all the circumstances, no nation or body of men 



ALEXANDER lIAiMII/rON. 299 

can stand in preference to the general Congress at Phil- 
adelphia." 

We have quoted the words of one who called Ilarnil- 
lon the pen of the Revolution. Others, with perhaps 
still hetter reasons, have termed hitn the thinker of that 
momentous period ; .-ind, as such, the pi'ophetical patriot 
who was ahove and heyond his age. It is certain that 
he projected many i)lans which seemed to his cotempo- 
'raries impossible at first, l)ut which were afterwards 
demonstrated to be n(^t only bold and majestic, but emi- 
nently sound and [)ractical. His most difficult labors 
were attem])ted and gloricjusly [)crformed during the 
gloomy period which extended from 1782 to 1787. 
" Whatever," says Hamilton, " might be the future re- 
sources of this nation, wliatever were the capacities of 
the people, America now presented an unrelieved picture 
of anarchy and disunion. Iler public engagements had 
nearly all been violated, her private resources appeared 
either to be exh;iusted, or could not be called into ac- 
tion ; and while the individual States were pursuing 
measures of mutual hostility and detriment, the confed- 
eration was powerless over their laws, powerless over 
public opinion." Nor was this the worst: "The gene- 
ral relaxation of inor.ils, an usual and most lamentable 
concomitant of war, was attended with a prevailing 
disregard of, and disposition to question, the decisions 
of the courts. In the political speculations to which the 
Revolution had given rise, the sovereignty of the popu- 
lar will, which was recognized as the basis of every 
proceeding, was pushed to its utmost extremes in its 



300 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOEIITION. 

application ; and wluM'cvor \\\c operation of the laws 
bore hard in the then. unsotlkHl relations of society, to 
recur to elementary princii)les of government, and re- 
solve every rule by its apparent adaptation to individual 
convenience, was the prevailing tendency of })ul)lic 
opinion." 

This great statesman felt the weakness of the existing 
confederation, and saw how the national resources were 
cither ulterly confnsed or exhausted. 1)U(, to use the 
language ol' \\n\ historian ol" that pericnl, " a new world is 
seen rising into view; a \vorld of hoj)e; and as the 
great lights that shine upon its morning i);ith appear, 
the gratei'ul inquiry is: '"Whose were those sui)erior 
minds that, amid the darkness of a chaotic conlederacy, 
combined the dements of social order, and formed them 
into a vast majestic empire?" 

Let us seek lor a suitable response to that (juestion in 
the consideration of several facts. 

When the enormous issues of jtaper-currency had iu- 
volv(>d the fniances of the Unifcnl Slates to the amount oi' 
two hundred millions of dollars, and both the govern- 
ment and arnu' were plunged into the greatest distress, 
Hamilton set about discovering the best means of relief. 
This was not to him an entirely new lield ol' research, 
and he explored most j)rofoundly the complicated mat- 
ters of finance, currency and taxation ; studies which 
soon inV(>st(Nl him with th(> immortal honor ol" beini'^ 
'"the founder of the public credit of the United States." 
In 1771) he addressed a letter to Robert Morris, detail- 
ing a plan which he had projected for the restoration of 
a depreciated currency, credit and confidence. About 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 301 

a year later he addressed a letter to Mr. Duane, a mem- 
ber of Congre.ss from New York, on the state of the 
nation. "This letter appears at this day,' says one, 
"with all the li<^-hts and fruits of our experience, as mas- 
terly in a j)rc-eminent degree, lie went on to show the 
defects and total inefficiency of the articles of confedera- 
tion, and to prove that we stood in need of a national 
government, with the requisite sovereign powers ; such, 
indeed, as the confederation theoretically contained, but 
without any fit organs to receive them, lie suggested 
the idea of a national convention to amend and re-or- 
ganize the government. This was undoubtedly the 
ablest and truest production on the state of the Union, 
its finances, ils army, its misiM'ies, its resources, and its 
remedies, that appeared during the Itevolution. It con- 
tained in embryo the existing federal Constitution, and 
it was the jji'oduction of a young man of the age of 
twenty-three." In the winter of 1781-2, this indefati- 
gable patriot continued his discussion of the same en- 
grossing theme through a series of anonymous essays 
published in the (;i>initry pajiers of New York. In 
brief, it was his jien that traced so early and so pro- 
foundly, with outlines the most clear and distinct, the 
stu[)endous chart of empire then just opening on the 
startled gaze of emanci[)ated but feeble colonists. To 
answer the c)uestion [jropounded above, we will ask 
several more. From whose eIo([uent lips came so often 
the thrilling cry of " union" and a " solid confederation ?" 
— who wrote the "Continentalist?" — who named the 
"Federalist?" — who was then stigmatized as the 
"Unionist?" — what mind roused the whole country to 



302 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

reflection in the burning words of Piiocion and Publius ? 
— who fought its battles through good report and evil 
report, even from the very hour that the first blow was 
struck in the Colonial contest ? These questions have 
been asked before, and may be answered, once for all — • 
Hamilton ! 

But after all that may be justly said in praise of this 
patriot as a popular orator, heroical soldier and polished 
writer, the most substantial service conferred on the 
country by his diversified and transcendent talents was 
performed by him in the character already referred to 
as the national financier. As Secretary of the Treasury 
he was the creative spirit that ruled the tempest and 
reduced chaos to form : 

" Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar 
Stood ruled." 

Being a member of President Washington's private 
council, he was one of the advisers of neutrality in 
April, 1793, when the proclamation was issued with re- 
spect to the war then raging between Great Britain and 
France. This neutral policy Hamilton aided much by 
his essays, under the signature of " No Jacobin," by the 
elaborate productions of " Pacificus," and still more by 
his advice in favor of the especial mission of Chief Jus- 
tice Jay, as minister to England, in 1794. 

In reviewing the life of Hamilton as a statesman, it 
should be remarked that he was fully equal to the highest 
stations he occupied, and that he honored them all. In 
this respect he resembled Edmund Burke. Owing no- 
thing of his elevation to birth, opulence, or official rank, 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 303 

he required none of those adventitious supports to rise 
and move at ease, and with instinctive power, in the 
highest regions of public effort, dignity and renown; 
the atmosphere of courts and senates was native to his 
majesty of wing. There was no fear that his plumage 
would give way in either the storm or the sunshine ; 
those are the casualties of inferior powers. He had his 
share of both the tempest and that still more pei'ilous 
trial which has melted down the virtue of so many as- 
piring spirits in the favor of cabinets. But he grew 
purer and more powerful for good ; to his latest moment 
he continually rose more and more above the influence 
of party, until at last the politician was elevated into the 
philosopher ; and fixing himself in that loftier region, 
from which he looked down on the cloudy and turbulent 
contests of the time, he soared upward calmly in the 
light of truth, and became more splendid at every wave 
of his wing. 

Brougham thinks justly that Chatham's highest enco- 
mium rests on the fact that, " Far superior to the paltry 
objects of a grovelling ambition, and regardless alike of 
party and personal considerations, he constantly set be- 
fore his eyes the highest duty of a public man, to fur- 
ther the interest of his species. In pursuing his course 
toward that goal, he disregarded alike the frowns of 
power and the gales of popular applause, exposed him- 
self undaunted to the vengeance of the court, battled 
against its corruptions, and confronted, unappalled, the 
rudest shock of public indignation." That Hamilton 
actually pursued such a course as this, and was governed 
by such principles, is well known from cotemporaneous 



304 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

history, and especially from his own pen in the opening 
language of the " Federalist." " An enlightened zeal," he 
observes, "for the energy and efficiency of government, 
vi'ill be stigmatized as the offspring of a temper fond of 
povi^er and hostile to the principles of liberty. The con- 
sciousness of good intentions disdains ambiguity. I 
shall not, however, multiply professions on this head. 
My motives must remain in the depository of my own 
breast; my arguments will be open to all, and may bo 
judged by all. They shall at least be offered in a spirit 
which will not disgrace the cause of truth." 

But by ingenuous and honest minds his integrity was 
never suspected. His moral worth was of an exalted 
character, and his varied services in behalf of his coun- 
try and the human race can never be rated too high. 
To him with the strictest propriety may be applied w'hat 
Mr. Burrowes said of Grattan : " His name silenced the 
skeptic upon the reality of genuine patriotism. To 
doubt the purity of his motives was a heresy which no 
tongue dared to utter; envv was lost in admiration, and 
even they whose crimes he scourged blended extorted 
praises with the murmurs of resentment. He covered 
our then unlledged Constitution with the ample wings of 
his talents, as the eagle covers her young ; like her he 
soared, and like her he could behold the rays, whether 
of royal favor or of royal anger, with undazzled, unin- 
timidated eye." 

To speak well and to write well are intellectual ac- 
complishments every where considered of the highest 
order, and in Hamilton the combination of these rare 
excellences was strikingly exemplified. Like the re- 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 305 

nowned Surrey, he was the most accomplished kiiight 
and the most accomphshed scholar of his day : 

" Matchless his pen, yiclorious was his lance, 
Bold in the lists, and graceful in the dance." 

In the hall, the camp and the forum, Hamilton was 
always employed in teaching the loftiest sentiments of 
patriotism and in executing the most generous deeds. 
When a whig student in college, he secured the tory 
president's safety at the risk of his own, even while the 
stubborn object of undeserved kindness cried out to the 
mob, " Don't listen to him, gentlemen ! He is crazy ! 
he is crazy!" And in all his subsequent career, we 
" find him thus fighting the cause of reason against 
popular passion, of the right against the expedient, and 
that, too, with the uniform and very natural reward of 
having his acts misconstrued, his motives misunderstood, 
his language misinterpreted, and himself held up, if not 
to public, at least to party odium, as a citizen without 
patriotism ; an adopted but not a filial son of America ; 
branded as a royalist, because he wrested from the law 
its sword of vengeance against the tories ; as an Eng-. 
lishman, because he would not hate the ancestral land 
against which he was yet willing to shed his blood ; as a 
monarchist, because he loved not revolutionary France; 
as an enemy to the people, because he would save 
them from their own mad passions ; and as a Caesar in 
ambition, because he gave up his heart to his public du- 
ties, and ever labored in them as men do in that which 
they love. But popular fickleness and political rancor 
never moved him from his chosen and conscientious 



;{()(» liKA'I'OKS OK 'rili; AlMKItlCAN U KVOI.U'riON. 

|>;>lli. 'V\\r mollo lliat, in tlic niiiin L!,it\(M"HO(l his whole 
iito, \v;is. (irst. Irulh ;uul honor, lh(>n the popuhir will. " 

In 17i)r>. :it ihc ai;(' ot lhirtv-ri!j;hf. ll;niiilton in^sunicd 
the praclicH* of law in the cily ot" New York, where ho 
continued in active iii't)lessional pursnits until tlu>. close 
ol" lile. His ])(>rsonal appeai-ancc* al that, time is repre- 
sented as loljow s : I le was under the niiddK" si/.(\ thin in 
person, hut I'einarkahly erect and diu;nilied in his (lt>|)ort- 
nuMit. II is hair was turned hack tVoni his forehead, 
powdered, and collected in a clnh behind. llis coni- 
jilexion was e\C(MMlin<j;lv lair, and \arN ini; iVoni this only 
hv the delicate rosiness of his cheeks. In loiio and lint 
his faci' was considered nnconinionly h.andsoiue. When 
in i"(>pos(\ it hove a s(were and thouu'hltul expression; 
but when engaged in conversalion, it iniUKMliately as- 
.suiucnI an attractive smile. I lis ordinary costume was 
a blue coat with bright bntlons, the skirts Ixmu*:; mi- 
usuallv louLi;; \\c wore a white w;iisIco,al, l)lack silk small- 
clothes, and white silk stockings, llis appearance and 
di>portnient accorded with the exalted distinction which, 
by his stupendous public services, he had allained. llis 
voice was eu<j;a^iu<ijlv pleasant, and his w hok' mien coin- 
inanded the res]iect due lo a mastermind. His natural 
iVanknt^ss inspinvl tlu' most allectionati' attachment; 
and his spl(Midid I.alents, as is usual, eliciteil the lirmest 
love and tlu> most furious hate. 

I'y nature ll.amilton was ;i moralist and metaphy- 
sician. The axioms oi" jiolitical sagacity and the pro- 
fusion oi' pointiMJ and pc>rspienous reilections whii-h 
llowed from his i>en. as wtdl as from his lips, gave 
an enduring value to his works, llis grent endowments 



AI.KXANDKIt irAVni.'ION. .'{07 

of <Jisci[)line(l tliou^lit. and (;ncr^(!f,ic will imparled to his 
liastiest conijxjsition (ilahoralc, forcto aud tli(5 grace of 
})erfeef,ion. lie could do lliat, hy infiiilion and a sinj^ic 
blow u'liicli ordinary HtaUiStncii would require, iiioiillis l.o 
j)OMfl(;r and execute. iJoid in liis [jropositions, ha was 
inexoral)l(; in his conclusions ; f^rarit liini liis itrernises, 
and the result was inevitahk; as fa.t(!. lie did not 
fatif^ue hirnsidf with profiisi; skirmishes nor bcwilfler his 
mind in the labyrinth of a fortnai exordium ; but lik(! an 
arrow imfxilN^d f)y a vi^^orous })ow, ho shot directly to 
th(; iriark. One o( the ujost enlightened critics ol' mo- 
dern limes has pronounced a wortliy eulogium on him 
as the most eminent framer, most eloquent defender, 
and sound(!st expositor of the American Constitution. 
" llaniilloD," Hays C/ui/.ot, in In's late work on the charac- 
ter of Washin.^ton, " miist f)e classed amr^n;^ th(; m(!n 
wlio have b(;st known the vital princi{)]es and the funda- 
mental conditions of a govcmrjient; not rif a govern- 
ment such fis this, (France,) but of a government worthy 
of it.s mission nnrl of its name. There is not in the 
Constitution of tin; United States an element of order, 
ol ii)]-(:(', ov of duration, which he has not |)o\ve,r(ully 
contributed t<; introducf; into it and caused to predomi- 
nate." 

Hamilton was the great mast(;r of the hunian heart, 
Deeply versed in its feelings and motives, he "struck by 
a word, and it quivered beneath tlu; blow; flashed the 
lightning glance of burning, thrilling, animated (elo- 
quence;" and its hopes and fear.s were moulded to his 
wish. He was the vivid impersonation of political 
sagacity. His imagination anrl practical judgment, like 



308 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

two fleet coursers, ran neck-and-ncck to the very goal 
of triumph. Military eloquence of the highest grade 
had its birth with liberty in the American Revolution. 
But the majority of our heroes were not adepts in lite- 
rature. They could conquer tyrants more skillfully than 
they could harangue them. To this rule, however, Ham- 
ilton was a distinguished exception. He was the most 
sagacious and laborious of our Revolutionary orators. 
He anticipated time and interrogated history with equal 
ease and ardor. He explored the archives of his own 
land, and drew from foreign courts the quintessence of 
their ministerial wisdom. He illuminated the councils 
where Washington presided, and with him guarded our 
youthful nation with the eyes of a lynx and the talons 
of a vulture. 

But we should give especial attention to Hamilton as 
a writer. Through the pen he wrought moi'e exten- 
sively on the popular mind, perhaps, than by all the 
impressiveness of his living eloquence. He well un- 
derstood the utility of this mighty engine for weal or 
woe. The ancient orators and writers, slowly transcrib- 
ing their words on parchment, breathed in their little 
pipes a melody for narrow circles ; but fame gives 
modern thought the magnificent trumpet of the press, 
whose perpetual voice speaks simultaneously to de- 
lighted millions at the remotest points. 

It is of vast advantage to a nation that men of the 
most elevated positions in civil affairs should take a part 
in its literature, and thus, with their pen as well as by 
their patronage, foster its development and perfection. 
jEschylus, the oldest of the great tragedians of Greece, 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 309 

was himself a soldier, and fought with heroism in many 
of the glorious battles of his country, one of which fur- 
nished the theme of his most celebrated work. Hero- 
dotus was born only a few years before the great conflict 
with Xerxes ; and Xenophon participated prominently in 
the remarkable military achievements he has commem- 
orated. The profoundest scholars, acutest poets, most 
masculine heroes, the best writers and most sagacious 
statesmen are always polished into enduring elegance, 
and fortified with the best strength amid the stern 
realities of life. 

Such was Alexander Hamilton. He was the indefa- 
tigable soldier of the press, the pen and the army ; in 
in each field he carried a sword which, like the one 
borne by the angel at the gate of Paradise, flashed its 
guardian care on every hand. In martial affairs he was 
an adept, in literary excellence he was unexcelled, and 
in political discernment he was universally acknowledged 
to be superior among the great. We read his writings 
with ever-increasing zest, fascinated by the seductive 
charms of his style, and impelled by the opening splen- 
dors of his far-reaching and comprehensive thoughts. 
They accumulate with a beautiful .symmetry, and ema- 
nate legitimately from his theme. They expand and 
grow, as an acorn rises into an oak, of which all the 
branches shoot out of the same trunk, nourished in every 
part by the same sap, and form a perfect unit, amid all 
the diversified tints of the foliage and the infinite com- 
plexity of the boughs. " That writer would deserve the 
fame of a public benefactor," said Fisher Ames, "who 
could exhibit the character of Hamilton with the truth 



310 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

and force that all who intimately knew him conceived 
it ; his example would then take the same ascendant as 
his talents. The portrait alone, however exquisitely 
finished, could not inspire genius where it is not ; but if 
the world should again have possession of so rare a gift, 
it might awaken it where it sleeps, as by a spark from 
heaven's own altar ; for surely if there is any thing like 
divinity in man it is in his admiration for virtue. 

" The country deeiily laments when it turns its eyes 
back and sees what Hamilton was ; but my soul stiflens 
with despair," continues Ames, " when I think what 
Hamilton would have been. It is not as Apollo, enchant- 
ing the shepherds with his lyre, that we deplore him ; it 
is as Hercules, treacherously slain in the midst of his 
unfinished labors, leaving the world overrun with 
monsters." 

It is unnecessary to dwell on the unrighteous and 
fatal event which robbed Hamilton of life — the duel 
with Aaron Eurr at Hoboken, when 

"A Falcon, tow'ring in his pride of place, 
Was by a mousing; owl hawk'd at and kill'd !"' 




K- L^^i:i i<;;n ximk^,. 



r:^ 



V/^L ^' 



1 •-a- 



CHAPTER XII. 
FISHER AMES, 

ORATOR OK GKSniH AND KLAfiORA I'K liKAUTY. 

In llio progress of our n:itional growth, tliorc Iiave 
been emergencies wtiioli (lernaruled and received the 
patriotic stj[)[)ort of extraordinary men. Of this charac- 
ter was the Coloni-al periorl, signalized by the eloquence 
and self-sacrifice of Otis, Quincy, Henry, Lee, and 
Sainuf;! Adams. The era of the Declaration and War 
of IndepcMidence was one which demanded wisdom in 
council as well as valor in fight. It was then that such 
heroes as Washington, Warren, Hancock, and John 
Adams, appeared, and c(jnducled the shi[j of State through 
terrific storms. 

But of not less imi)ortance and difficulty was that 
portion of our history which dates from the peace of 
178JJ, and immediately succeeds it. The independence 
of the United States was happily confirmed, hut the dif- 
ficulties which attended this conquest were far from 
being at an end. The new government went into ope- 
ration under thepressureof an enormous debt, and with- 
out either a revenue, or the power of raising one. A 
long war had destroyed commerce, and fearfully con- 



312 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

tracted the ordinary sources of national sustenance. 
The hite army was unpaid, conflicts with the Indians 
still raged, civil dissensions distracted the borders of the 
country, and foreign politics exerted a threatening influ- 
ence all 0"<7er the land. It was a crisis which demanded 
talents unlike, and, in their way, superior to any that 
had ever before appeared. It was a period forever mem- 
orable as having given em):)loyment and fame to those 
kindred spirits of masterly endowments, Alexander 
Hamilton and Fisher Ames. 

In sketching the personal history of Mr. Ames, we 
shall rely mainly for facts on President Kirkland, as he 
has stated them in a biographical notice prefixed to the 
great orator's collected works. 

Fisher Ames was born on the 9th of April, 1758, at 
Dedham, about nine miles from Boston. His ancestors 
were distinguished in England, and his family was one of 
the most respectable in his native State. Fisher was the 
youngest of five cliildren. His father died when he was 
but seven years old, leaving widow and orphans in pen- 
ury to be buffeted by the storms of the world. But the 
mother, as if " anticipating the future lustre of the jewel 
committed to her care," early resolved to struggle with, 
her narrow circumstances in order to give this son a 
literary education ; and she lived to see his eminence 
and prosperity, to receive the expressions of his filial 
piety, and to weep over his grave. 

Precocious talents are not usually the most auspicious 
of enduring power, but in young Ames they were neither 
feeble nor transient. He began the study of Latin 
when but six years old. In 1770, soon after the com- 



i 



FISHER AMES. 313 

pletion of his twelfth year, he was admitted to Harvard 
College. With a mind too immature, perhaps, to receive 
the full benefit to be derived from the collegiate course, 
his uncommon industry enabled him to outstrip many 
of his seniors, and he soon obtained a hisch standinar. 
Even at this early period he was remarkable for the ta- 
lent which afterwards constituted his principal claim to 
reputation. In a society formed among the students for 
mutual improvement in oratory, Ames was a favorite ; 
and his declamation, says Kirkland, "was remarkable for 
its energy and pi'opriety. His compositions at this time 
bore the characteristic stamp which always marked his 
speaking and writing. They were sententious and full 
of ornament. In 1774, he received his degree as 
Bachelor of Arts; but owing to the disturbed and ex- 
cited condition of the country, his own youth, and the 
narrow circumstances of his mother, he did not enter at 
once upon the study of a profession. Meanwhile he 
was not idle ; in teaching in one of the district schools 
of his native State, he at the same time obtained the 
means of maintaining himself, while leisure was left him 
for the prosecution of his favorite studies. All this time, 
he used afterwards to repeat, he read, with an avidity 
bordering on enthusiasm, almost every thing within his 
reach. He revised the Latin classics, which he had 
studied at College. He read works illustrating Greek 
and Roman antiquities and the mythology of the an- 
cients ; natural and civil history, and some of the best 
novels, Poetry was both his food and luxury. He read 
the principal English poets, and became familiar with 
Milton and Shakspeare, dwelt on their beauties, and 
14 



314 ORATOUS OF TJIE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

fixed passages of peculiar excellence in his memory. 
He had a high relish for the works of Virgil, and at this 
time could repeat considerable portions of the Eclogues 
and Georgics, and most of the touching and splendid 
passages of the ^Eneid. This multifarious, though, for 
want of a guide, indiscriminate, and, probably, in some 
instances, ill-directed reading, must have contributed to 
extend and enrich the mind of the young student. It 
helped to supply that fund of materials ibr speaking and 
writing which he possessed in singular abundance ; and 
hence partly he derived his remarkable fertility of allu- 
sion, his ability to evolve a train of imagery adapted to 
every subject of which he treated.' 

Mr. Ames, having studied law in the office of William 
Tudor, Esq., of Boston, commenced the practice of that 
profession at Dedham, his native place, in 1781. He 
entered warmly into the struggle for Independence, 
although quite young, and his talents were soon both 
recognized and employed by his fellow citizens. 

To devise some m-eans lor the relief of the general 
distress, occasioned by the great depreciation of the pa- 
per currency of that day, a convention of delegates 
from every part of the State assembled at Concord. Mr, 
Ames was chosen to represent iiis town at that meeting. 
In a lucid and eloquent speech he demonstrated the fu- 
tility of the measures at first proposed, and, at that early 
period, rendered himself a debater of much note. 

The fame which followed his early eflbrts conduced 
to place him in the Massachusetts Convention for rati- 
fying the Constitution, in 1788. From this sphere, in 
which he made a deep impression by some of his speeches, 



i 



FISHER AMES. 315 

particularly that on biennial elections, he passed to the 
House of Representatives in the State Legislature. 
Here, he soon became so eminent as an orator and man 
of business, that the voters of the Suffolk District elected 
him their first representative in the Congress of the 
United States. He had not been long in that assembly 
before his friends and admirers were satisfied that they 
liad not overrated his abilities and claims on their sup- 
port. He won there the palm of eloquence, besides 
proving himself equal to the discussion of the profoundest 
subjects of politics and finance, and the execution of the 
most arduous committee labors. He remained in Con- 
gress during the whole of Washington's administration, 
which he constantly and zealously defended. 

Having thus rapidly traced Mr. Ames from his birth 
to the exalted position he in the maturity of his life at- 
tained, let us more minutely analyze and examine the 
elements of his character as an orator, a patriot, and a 
man. 

Fisher Ames, among the great men of his day, was the 
orator of genius and elaborate beauty. Genius is the power 
of hard thinking. The two simple words which Newton 
employed to explain his own greatness, are "patient 
thought." The faculty of which we now speak, and which 
our countryman largely possessed, is an aggregate in 
which imagination, intelligence, and sentiment, are equal- 
ly elevated and exactly combined. It is a soul whose' 
glance penetrates exalted ideas, and whose skill can em- 
body them in marble, in brass, in speech, and in writing; 
communicating to each ofifepring of the intellect a power 
from the heart, which, in turn, hurls it all living into the 



316 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

hearts of others. Genius is the most beautiful endow- 
ment, and the most indomitable force possessed by man- 
kind ; one can despoil man of rank, or of fortune, but 
genius is invulnerable. It is the greatest among finite 
powers; an intuition vast and subtle to perceive the 
relations that unite all gradations of being, a limpid lake 
wherein God and the universe are reflected with as 
much brilliancy of tint as splendor of light. When em- 
ployed by those who are richly endowed, it is the faculty 
of rendering ideas visible to those who are not blessed 
with native vision to discover for themselves ; it makes 
thought palpable in bold imagery, and imbues it with a 
power to touch, enlighten and subjugate, analagous to 
what one experiences when love comes to seize our at- 
tention and command our will. 

In the ideals which genius creates, we meet with no 
dry mechanism, but an organic nature throbbing with 
the highest pulsations of life. Its offspring emanate 
from the inmost depth of the soul, and unfold with won- 
drous charms peculiar to each, like words fresh from the 
hand of God. Every mind endowed with high creative 
power, is a mystery standing by itself, a flower from 
Paradise, redolent of fragrance and perpetually blossom- 
ing with original charms, but for ever unmino;led with 
others and unexplained. Who can ever mistake the 
spirit of beauty that hovers over Raphael's pictures, and 
who can ever analyze its power? Who has not been 
moved by the intellectual breath, the inner charm of 
soul, that reigns in Shakesperean creations, and yet who 
can define the influence which compels us to shudder or 
shout when we contemplate their features and feel their 



FISHER AMES, 317 

touch? We believe that genius is taste in its greatest 
perfection, formed by long practice on the best models 
and so disciplined as to create excellence with sponta- 
neous ease. Sophocles, speaking of his great predeces- 
sor in the tragic art, said very happily : " yEschylus does 
what is right without knowing it." These few words 
explain all that it is possible to understand respecting 
powerful genius seemingly unconscious of its powers. 

All ingenuous readers of the works of Mr. Ames, will 
concur with those who heard him in public and in pri- 
vate, in accrediting to him a mind of high order, in 
many respects of the highest, and that he has a just 
claim to the honors of genius; that quality, to use his 
own words, " without which judgment is cold and 
knowledge inert ; that energy, which collects, combines, 
amplifies, and animates." In presenting his idea of this 
power, he would not liken it to a conflagration on the 
mountains, consuming its fuel in its flame ; but would 
represent it as a spark of elemental fire that is un- 
quenchable, the cotemporary of this creation, and des- 
tined with the human soul to survive it. "Genius feels 
the power it exerts, and its emotions are contagious be- 
cause they are fervid and sincere. As well might the 
stars of heaven be said to expand their substance by 
their lustre, as that genius becomes exhausted by the 
offshoots of its splendor." 

But, while he could more safely trust to his native re- 
sources than most men, Mr. Ames never neglected to 
subordinate the labors of other men to his use. " With 
the dews of life in his brimming urn," he early formed 
a passionate attachment to books ; and this strong love 



318 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

he cherished through his whole life. He was particular- 
ly fond of moral philosophy, but explored history with 
most enthusiastic zeal. He read Herodotus, Thucydi- 
des, Livy, Tacitus, Plutarch, and the modern historians 
of Greece and Rome. English history he studied almost 
constantly, and mastered beyond most men. Hence he 
possessed a great amount of historical information which 
was always at command both in writing and oral de- 
bate. His biographer says that "he was accustomed to 
read the Scriptures, not only as containing a system of 
truth and duty, but as displaying in their poetical parts, 
all that is sublime, animated, and affecting in composi- 
tion." He was a devout admirer of the ancient classics, 
and especially of the poets. Homer he often perused, 
and read Virgil with constantly increased delight. 
Ames had all of Plato's admiration for the beauty of 
verse, but would have been less stern in legislating 
against the children of the muses. The latter banished 
poets from his ideal republic, but he directed that they 
should be crowned with flowers and conducted to the 
gates of the city, with the music of harps, in honor of 
that ray of divinity which they possessed, though he 
wished not to accept of their domination. 

Sir Joshua Reynolds thought that excellence of the 
highest order may be acquired. But this theory of indus- 
try, so essential to genius, yet so useless without it, never 
produced a Corrcgio or Demosthenes. Still, nothing can 
be more incorrect than to suppose, that genius needs no 
study. Goethe rose early every morning, and studied 
closely the whole day. Leibnitz confined himself to his 
tasks for weeks too;ether. Thouuh it must be admitted 



FISHER AMES. 319 

that Shakspeare had not a complete education, his 
works show a vast amount of knowledge which must 
have cost him much research. He lived in an age 
highly favorable to poetry, and which cultivated the 
great poet much more than a practical age like ours. It 
was an era full of romantic thought and the quick in- 
stincts of this master of the heart readily absorbed its 
richest treasures. 

The influence of genius pervades a wide area and 
effects all susceptible intellects according to the prevail- 
ing tendencies and peculiar endowments of each. In 
Elizabeth's day, the light of inspiration came from Italy, 
and it deeply toned the very atmosphere in which the 
hterati breathed. More recently, the influence of Ger- 
many has gained ascendancy and has been reproduced 
in every department of literature. Genius was reflective 
with Coleridge, chivalrous with Scott, impassioned with 
Byron, and fiery to extreme in Campbell's thrilling melo- 
dies. But in every form, genius is the same — the 
ethereal soul of beauty and sublimity, which refines the 
gt'oss and modulates the inharmonious, even as an 
vEolian harp arrests the vagrant winds and transforms 
them into enchanting strains. The atmosphere in 
which Ames was born and educated was fervid patriot- 
ism ; this he imbibed into his fine-toned nature and re- 
produced in the loftiest and most ela1)orate eloquence. 

" Thy words had such a melting flow, 
And spoke of truth so sweetly well, 
They dmpp'd like heaven's serenest snow, 
And all was brightness where they fell." 

Being thus endowed, we can understand how it was 



320 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

that Mr. Ames produced so many original combinations, 
resemblances and contrasts which none saw before, but 
on being presented, were immediately pronounced just 
and striking. Says President Kirkland : 

" As a speaker and as a writer he had the power to 
enlighten and persuade, to move, to please, to charm, to 
astonish. He united those decorations that belong to 
fine talents to that penetration and judgment that desig- 
nate an acute and solid mind. Many of his opinions 
have the authority of predictions fulfilled and fulfilling. 
He had the ability of investigation, and, where it was 
necessary, did investigate with patient attention, going 
through a series of observation and deduction, and 
tracing the links which connect one truth with another. 
When the result of his researches was exhibited in dis- 
course, the steps of a logical process wer£ in some mea- 
sure concealed by the coloring of rhetoric. Minute 
calculations and dry details were employments, however, 
the least adapted to his peculiar construction of mind. 
It was easy and delightful for him to illustrate by a pic- 
ture, but painful and laborious to prove by a diagram. 
It was the prerogative of his mind to discern by a 
glance, so rapid as to seem intuition, those truths which 
common capacities struggle hard to apprehend ; and it 
was the part of his eloquence to display, expand, and 
enforce them. 

"His imagination was a distinguishing feature of his 
mind. Prolific, grand, sportive, original, it gave him 
the command of nature and art, and enabled him to vary 
the disposition and the dress of his ideas without end. 
Now it assembled most pleasing images, adorned with 



FISHER AMES. 321 

all that is soft and beautiful ; and now rose in the storm, 
wielding the elements and flashing with the most awful 
splendors." 

Mr. Ames had a distinguished share in all the great 
measures which were discussed in Congress during the 
eight years of his membership. His speeches on Mr. 
Madison's resolutions, and on the appropriation for the 
British treaty, claim particular notice. The latter consti- 
tuted the most renowned act of his life. His health was 
ieeble, but the magnitude of the dangers which he be- 
lieved threatened the country inspired him with ex- 
traordinary animation. The speech he then made 
abounded in the most elevated notions of national 
honor, and in the most impassioned appeals to the pa- 
triotism and reason of his hearers. During its delivery, 
a crowded house listened with the most profound atten- 
tion ; and when in conclusion he alluded, in a touching 
manner, " to his own slender and almost broken hold 
upon life," the audience was moved to tears. As he 
took his seat, the question was loudly called for ; but 
the opposition dreaded the effects of a speech so hostile 
to their views, and one of its members moved that the 
decision of the question be postponed to the ensuing day, 
lest they should act under the influence of feelings which 
their calm judgment might condemn. The eloquence 
of Ames on this great occasion, and the motion in re- 
spect to it, were the same as in the famous instance of 
the great English orator at the close of his impeach- 
ment of Warren Hastings. 

This speech on the British Treaty aflx>rds the best 
specimens of his style. He speaks of the power of pre- 
14* 



322 ORATOUS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

judiced nations as follows : " They are higher than a 
Chinese wall in truth's way, and built of materials that 
are indestructible. While this remains, it is in vain to 
argue ; it is in vain to say to this mountain, be thou 
cast into the sea. For, I ask of the men of knowledge 
of the world, whether they would not hold him for a 
blockhead, that should hope to prevail in an argument, 
whose scope and object is to mortify the self-love of the 
expected proselyte ? I ask further, when such attempts 
have been made, have they not failed of success ? The 
indignant heart repels a conviction that is believed to 
debase it." 

Instances of this sententiousness so peculiar to this 
orator frequently occur. As specimens, take the follow- 
ing : "Evil to a fatal extreme, if that be its tendency, 
requires no proof, it brings it. Extremes speak lor 
themselves and make their own law." 

" It is the prerogative of folly alone to maintain both 
sides of a proposition. Shame should blister their 
tono;ue, and infamv tingle in their ears." 

Sometimes with a few strokes of his pencil, he sug- 
gests a fearful scene. For example : " Before we re- 
solve to leap into this abyss, so dark and so profound, it 
becomes us to pause and reflect upon such of the dan- 
gers as are obvious and inevitable. If the assembly 
should be wrought into a tempest to defy these conse- 
quences, it is in vain, it is deceptive, to pretend that we 
can escape them." 

Mr. Ames always entertained the most jealous fears 
with respect to the dangers of anarchy. Speaking on 
that topic, he presents a specimen of the highly figura- 



FISHER AMES. 323 

live style in which it was so natural and common for 
him to indulge. " A mobocracy is always usurped by 
the worst men in the most corrupt times ; in a period of 
violence by the most violent. It is a Briareus with a 
thousand hands, each bearing a dagger; a Cerberus 
gaping with her thousand throats all parched and thirst- 
ing for fresh blood. It is a genuine tyranny, but of all 
the least durable, yet the most destructive while it lasts. 
The power of a despot, like the ardor of a summer's sun, 
dries up the grass, but the roots remain fresh in the soil ; 
a mob-government, like a West India hurricane, in- 
stantly strews the fruitful earth with promiscuous ruins, 
and turns the sky yellow with pestilence. Men inhale 
a vapor like a Sirocco, and die in the open air for 
want of respiration. It is a winged curse that envelopes 
the obscure as well as the distinguished, and is wafted 
into the lurking places of the fugitives. It is not doing 
justice to licentiousness, to compare it to a wind which 
ravages the surface of the earth ; it is an earthquake 
that loosens its foundations, burying in an hour the ac- 
cumulated wealth and wisdom of ages. Those, who, 
after the calamity, would re-construct the edifice of the 
pubhc liberty, will be scarcely able to find the model of 
the artificers, or even the ruins. Mountains have split 
and filled the fertile valleys, covering them with rocks 
and gravel ; rivers have changed their beds ; populous 
towns have sunk, leaving only frightful chasms, out of 
which are creeping the remnant of living wretches, the 
monuments and the victims of despair." 

This profusion of imagery may offend the taste of 
phlegmatic persons. It is not uncommon for frigid 



324 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

critics to be dissatisfied, while enthusiastic throngs are 
charmed. In the productions of Mr. Ames, it is certain 
that there was great energy and quickness of conception, 
an inexhaustible fertility which sometimes superabounds 
in ornament. A wise reviewer has said : 

" Image crowded upon image in his mind, he is not 
chargeable with affectation in the use of figurative lan- 
guage ; his tropes are evidently prompted by imagina- 
tion, and not forced into his service. Their novelty 
and variety create constant surprise and delight. But 
they are, perhaps, too lavishly employed. The fancy 
of his hearers is sometimes overplied with stimulus, and 
the importance of the thought liable to be concealed in 
the multitude and beauty of the metaphors. Ilis con- 
densation of expression may be thought to produce 
occasional abruptness. He aimed rather at the terse- 
ness, strength, and vivacity of the short sentence, than 
the dignity of the full and flowing period; His style is 
conspicuous for sententious brevity, for antithesis and 
point. Single ideas appear with so much lustre and 
prominence, that the connection of the several parts of 
his discourse is not always obvious to the common 
mind, and the aggregate impression of the composition 
is not always completely obtained. In those respects 
where his peculiar excellencies came near to defects, 
he is rather to be admired than imitated." 

But fire and fancy are not incompatible with truth 
and wisdom. Lord Chatham's reply to Mr. Pelham, when 
taunted on this ground, was very just. " What the 
gentleman on the other side means by long harangues, 
or flowers of rhetoric, I shall not pretend to determine ; 



FfSHER AMES. 325 

but if they make use of nothing of the kind, it is no veiy 
good argument of their sincerity, because a man who 
speaks from his heart and is sincerely affected with the 
subject upon which he speaks, as every honest man 
must be when he speaks in the cause of his country, 
such a man, I say, falls naturally into expressions which 
may be called flow'ers of rhetoric, and, therefore, deserves 
as little to be charged with affectation as the most stupid 
serjeant-at-law that ever spoke for a half-guinea fee." 
It is evident that Mr. Ames was better adapted to 
the senate than the bar. "It was easy and delightful to 
him to illustrate by a picture, but painful and laborious 
to prove by a diagram." Genius sees by intuition, 
illustrates by pictures, and speaks in music. The 
phraseology in which its sentiments are clothed, is not 
a kind of patch-work laboriously tagged together, but is 
part and parcel of the thought, and is born mature and 
splendid, like Minerva glittering from the brow of Jove. 
But of the great effects produced by Mr. Ames through 
his living tones and impressive action, we can form no 
adequate conception from the comparatively lifeless 
matter of his printed works. 

" There's a charm in deJiv'ry, a magical art, 
That thrills, like a kiss, from the lip to the heart; 
'Tis the glance — the expression — the well-chosen word-- 
By whose magic the depths of the spirit are stirr'd — 
The smile — the mute gesture — the soul-stirring pause — 
The eye's sweet expression, that melts while it awes — 
The lip's soft persuasion — its musical tone : 
Oh ! such were the charms of that eloquent one !" 

We have glanced at Fisher Ames as an orator, let us 



326 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

in passing, contemplate him a moment in the character 
of a patriot. He very early became distinguished, not 
less by the power of his pen than by the splendor of his 
living eloquence. Abhorring the excesses of the French 
Revolution, he feared the hold which France had upon 
the sympathies of America. He foresaw the downfall 
of the federalist party, to which he was zealously 
attached, and he dreaded lest the country should perish 
with it. But time has shown that his fears, and the 
fears of many other good men, on this score were 
unfounded. Repeated experience confirms the belief 
that changes of party tend to preserve the Union rather 
than destroy it. 

If Mr. Ames was excessively fearful as to the purity 
and permanency of the young republic, it ought not on 
this account to be inferred that he was insincere or 
wanting in patriotism. Such an imputation is disproved 
by his own strong and explicit declaration. " I detest 
the man and disdain the spirit, which can bend to a 
mean subserviency to any foreign nation. It is enough 
to be Americans ; that character comprehends our 
duties, and ought to engage our attachments." lie did 
not love his own country less, but he hated foreign 
politics more. He beheld, he said, in the French Revo- 
lution, a "a despotism of the mob or the military from the 
first, and hypocrisy of morals to the last." Impelled by 
a zeal that was doubtless honest, though sometimes 
gloomy to excess, he kept his pen busy in the defence 
of his political views, even when sickness had withdrawn 
him from forensic strife. In the character of " Lucius 
Junius Brutus," he wrote a series of powerful essays to 



FISHER AMES. 327 

animate the government of his country to decision and 
energy ; and after the Revolutionary storm subsided, as 
"Camillus," he taught the nation to profit by the dan- 
gers it had passed. The eloquence of the tongue and 
the pen are not often combined in the same man; but 
Ames was alike eminent in both. 

We have already presented several extracts from his 
great speech on the British Treaty, as specimens of his 
style and eloquence. We will draw still farther from 
the same source, in order to present in Mr. Ames' own 
language one or two exemplifications of his spirit as a 
patriot. Said he, " A treaty of amity is condemned, 
because it is not made by a foe, and in the spirit of one. 
— I like this, sir, because it is sincerity. With feelings 
such as these, we do not pant for treaties. Such 
passions seek nothing, and will be contented with 
nothing, but the destruction of their object. If a treaty 
left King George his island, it would not answer ; not 
if he stipulated to pay rent for it. It has been said, that 
we ought to rejoice if Britain were sunk in the sea ; if 
where there are now men, and wealth, and laws, and 
liberty, there were nothing more than a sand-bank for 
the sea-monsters to fatten on ; a space for the storms 
of the ocean to mingle in conflict." 

Ames entertained exalted and worthy views respect- 
ing political integrity and national honor. " If," said he, 
" there could be a resurrection from the foot of the gal- 
lows, if the victims of justice could live again, collect 
together and form a society, they would, however 
loath, soon find themselves obliged to make justice, that 
justice under which they fell, the fundamental law of 



328 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

their State. They would perceive it was their interest 
to make others respect, and they would therefore soon 
pay some respect themselves to the obligations of good 
faith." It is thus that he goes on to deprecate the 
existence of bigotry and intrigue in our relations with 
foreign nations. " For," exclaims he, " What is patriot- 
ism? Is it narrow affection for the spot where a man 
was born ? Are the very clods where we tread entitled 
to this ardent preference because they are greener ? No, 
sir, this is not the character of the virtue, and it soars 
higher for its object. It is an extended self-love, min- 
gling with all the enjoyments of life, and twisting itself 
with the minutest filaments of the heart. 

It is thus we obey the laws of society, because they 
are the laws of virtue. In their authority, we see, not 
the array of force and terror, but the venerable image 
of our country's honor. Every good citizen makes that 
honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious, but 
as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defence, 
and is conscious that he gains protection while he 
gives it. 

For, what rights of a citizen will be deemed inviola- 
ble, when a State renounces the principles that con- 
stitute their security? Or, if his life should not be 
invaded, what would its enjoyments be in a country 
odious in the eyes of strangers, and dishonored in its 
own ? Could he look with aflection and veneration to 
such a country as his parent? The sense of having 
one would die within him ; he would blush for his pa- 
triotism, if he retained any, and justly, for it would be a 
vice. He would be a banished man in his native land." 



FISHER AMES, 329 

At the close of the session, in the spring of 1790, 
Mr. Ames travelled in Virginia for his liealth. At 
this time the college of Now Jersey expressed their 
estimation of his public worth by conferring on him the 
degree of Doctor of Laws. He gained sufficient strength 
to attend the next session of Congress, though with 
rapidly decreasing health. He was chairman of the 
committee which reported the answer to Washington's 
speech. This answer contained a most aflectionate and 
appropriate allusion to the President's declaration, that 
he now stood for the last time in their presence. In 
conclusion, it said ; " for your country's sake, for the 
sake of republican liberty, it is our earnest wish, that 
your example may be the guide of your successors, and 
thus, after being the ornament and safeguard of the pre- 
sent age, become the patrimony of our descendants." 

The session being terminated, Mr. Ames, having de- 
clined a re-election, retired to his favorite residence at 
Dedham, to enjoy repose in the bosom of his family, 
amid those rural occupations in which he greatly de- 
lighted. 

Having rapidly sketched the character of Fisher 
Ames as an orator and patriot, it remains briefly to 
speak of him as a man. Kirkland says : " Happily, he 
did not need the smart of guilt to make him virtuous, 
nor the regret of folly to make him wise. His spotless 
youth brought blessing to the whole remainder of his 
life. It gave him the entire use of his faculties, and all 
the fruit of his literary education. Its effects appeared 
in that fine edge of moral feeling which he always pre- 



330 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

served ; in his strict and often austere temperance ; in 
his love of occupation, that made activity deHght ; in 
his distaste for pubHc diversions, and his preference of 
simple pleasures. Beginning well, he advanced with 
unremitted steps in the race of virtue, and arrived at 
the end of life in peace and honor. The objects of re- 
ligion presented themselves with a strong interest to his 
mind. The relation of the world to its author, and of 
this life to a retributory scene in another, could not be 
contemplated by him without the greatest solemnity. 
He felt it his duty and interest to inquire, and discovered 
on the side of faith a fullness of evidence little short of 
demonstration. At about thirty-five he made a public 
profession of his belief in the Christian religion, and 
was a regular attendant on its services.'' 

In 1804, Mr. Ames was chosen president of Harvard 
College, — an honor which ill health compelled him to 
decline. When Washington died, he was appointed to 
pronounce his eulogy before the legislature of Massachu- 
setts, a duty which he performed with distinguished suc- 
cess. The theme seemed to inspire him with a primitive 
glow of eloquence. It was almost the last public service 
he performed, and a fitting close to a brilliant and useful 
career. His energies rapidly declined, until, after an 
extreme debility for two years, death at length ended 
his suflerings. He expired, July 4th, 1808. His remains 
were carried to Boston, where they were interred with 
honors such as had never before been accorded to a pri- 
vate citizen. To such a man, having performed such 
services. 



, FISHER AMES. 331 

" Death is the crown of life : 
Were death denied, poor man would live in vain. 
Death wounds to cure : we fall, we rise, we reign , 
Spring from our fetters, fasten to the skies, 
Where blooming Eden withers from our sight. 
This king of terrors is the prince of peace." 

Those who were familiar with the person of Mr. 
Ames, represent him as being above middle stature, 
and well formed. His features were not strongly 
marked. His forehead was neither high nor expansive. 
His eyes were blue and of middling size ; his mouth was 
handsome; his hair was black, and short on the fore- 
head, and, in his latter years, unpowdered. He was 
very erect, and when speaking he raised his head. His 
expression was usually complacent, when in debate, and 
if he meant to be severe, it was seen in good-natured 
sarcasm, rather than in acrimonious words. It was 
said that the beautiful productions of his pen were the 
first flow of his mind, and hardly corrected for the press. 
" In public speaking he trusted much to excitement, and 
did little more in his closet than to draw the outlines of 
his speech and reflect on it, till he had received deeply 
the impressions he intended to make ; depending for the 
turns and figures of language, illustrations and modes of 
appeal to the passions, on his imagination and feelings 
at the time. This excitement continued, w'hen the 
cause had ceased to operate. After debate his mind was 
agitated, like the ocean after a storm, and his nerves 
were like the shrouds of a ship torn by the tempest." 
Such, in brief, were the appearance and mental habits 
of the great man, 



332 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

"Whose eloquence brightening whatever it tried, 
Whether reason or fancy, the gay or the grave, 
Was as rapid, as deep, and as brilliant a tide. 
As ever bore freedom aloft on its wave !" 

The training preparatory to public life which Fisher 
Ames experienced, was thorough and comprehensive. 
In moral worth he was excelled by no statesman of his 
day. His youth was studious, and his whole life was 
consecrated to the highest cultivation. He has himself 
said, " The heart is more than half corrupted, that does 
not burn with indignation at the slightest attempt to 
seduce it." 

He excelled all his cotemporaries in the fascinations 
of conversation, even more than he was superior to 
most persons in public debate. He quailed before none 
amid the severe splendors of the rostrum, but he turned 
with hearty delight and unequalled attractiveness to the 
more genial charms of social life, of which he was very 
fond. " The value of friends," he observes, " is the most 
apparent and highest rated to those who mingle in the 
conflicts of political life. The sharp contests for little 
points wound the mind, and the ceaseless jai'gon of hy- 
pocrisy overpowers the faculties. I turn from scenes 
which provoke and disgust me, to the contemplation of 
the interest I have in private life, and to the pleasures 
of society with those friends whom I have so much rea- 
son to esteem." 

He who pulls but one string, will ring but one bell ; 
he who has not his whole nature cultivated, will be nar- 
rowly restricted in his influence on mankind. We 
reach the passions only through the passions ; we impel 



FISHER AMES. 333 

in others only that which is identical with what we first 
move in ourselves. The great orator must be "many- 
sided" and vai'iously educated. He must grow up like 
the mountain oak, which, from unfolding germ to ma- 
tured development, feeds as it grows on every kingdom 
of nature — taking in strength of heart, vigor of limb, and 
that ruggedness to endure which is perpetually appro- 
priated from rocky earth and genial dews, from summer 
zephyrs, and wintry storms. 

Fisher Ames was the orator of genius among our 
Revolutionary patriots. He was impelled in his oratori- 
cal career by those mighty wings vouchsafed to few, 
but which re-appearing from time to time in aid «f the 
choicest minds, are necessary to bear Truth through 
the sea of time. He united the substantial and orna- 
mental, — the multiflora rose-bush in full bloom wreathed 
round a column of granite, — the decorations welling up 
from the fount of fine emotion, and lending vividness 
and momentum to the penetration and judgment which 
always constitute the basis of a great character. He 
w^as fond of patient investigation, when required ; but 
was more skillful in that prophetical sagacity of mind 
which lays hold of remote consequences with the force 
and accuracy of intuition. He seems to have meditated 
without effort, and to have produced without exhaustion. 

The sublime in speech is nothing else than that which 
true genius discovers beyond the hackneyed regions of 
ordinary ideas. The impressive orator must plunge in 
the deep mines of thought, and not be content to gather 
the brilliant grains of sand which cover the profounder 
veins of massy gold. He must leap beyond vulgar con- 



334 OKATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ceptions, and create his thought in those pure regions 
which extend between the extremes of trite prettiness 
and vapid exaggeration. The popular speaker must de- 
velope in their splendid magnitude the harmonious and 
imposing forms of expression which give to eloquence its 
force, its dignity, its vehemence, its gradation of thought 
and majestic movement. "The fulminating arrows of 
Demosthenes," says Cicero, "would strike with much 
less power, if they were emitted with less rythm and 
impetuosity." 

Acute sensibility, the inseparable concomitant of 
genius, and potent auxiliary of reason, was finely devel- 
oped and copiously abounded in Fisher Ames. A mind 
kindled with enthusiasm unfolds its grandeur in the light 
of its own flames, as the sea is never more grand than 
at night when it heaves, storm-tossed and brilliant, with 
the illumination of its own phosphorescence. When 
fully aroused in debate, Ames frequently trembled from 
head to foot; he wept in irrepressible emotion, and 
paused in the struggle to embody the inarticulate elo- 
quence of his heart. He bent under the reflex passions 
he aroused in others, and then in turn bowed them 
under the augmented weight of his own. 

The great orators of antiquity labored long and pas- 
sionately to develope their own sensibilities, and, in 
speaking, to make their heart a mighty auxiliary to their 
intellect. They strove to feed the fires of their elo- 
quence with the choicest materials, selected from the 
most glowing sources ; not as dry quotations, frigid 
ornaments tagged to the limping dullness of their own 
stupid thoughts, but as spontaneous contributions of 



FISHER AMES. 335 

volcanic heat and power, kindling where they fell and 
blending with the flames they augmented. Their minds 
were I'ich with the selectest stores of elegant literature, 
and as some pertinent maxim or splendid illustration 
occurred in extemporaneous discourse, the gem grew 
suddenly brilliant amid the corruscations of inflamed 
fancy, while the orator poured his whole soul into his 
quotation, and sent it, revivified and blazing to every 
enraptured bosom. This power of reproducing familiar 
thoughts with all their original inspiration and efl^ect, 
is a rare gift, and was constantly impi'oved by Fisher 
Ames. He possessed the power of striking those deli- 
cate notes of soul-harmony which a sympathetic audience 
always repeat with rapture in their own hushed hearts. 
He diirused a charm around him, like ambrosia evapo- 
rating from an open vase, and which was worthy to be 
served at the table of the gods. He was not simply a 
rhetorician, or an adept in metaphysics, he was an 
orator by the true passion of eloquence; he was 
a musician in his tones, and a poet in his expres- 
sions. 

Ames was a sound reasoner, but his style of argument 
was harmonious with the constitution of his mind. The 
logic that is most felt is least seen, as the cannon-ball 
that rends the target is not visible in its flight. True 
force should be measured by its efficiency, rather than 
by the manner in which its results are executed. 

Popular eloquence must be rich in colors, simple in 
subject, sparkling with light, [)alpable in premises, bold 
in deduction, and varied in tone, in order to please the 
multitude and convince all. As in nature there are 



336 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

some prominent objects wliicli can be seen from far, as 
a house, a tree or a mountain, so there are but a few 
reasons so obvious as to strike the common minJ. That 
which a philosopher comprehends by an argument, the 
mass of the people comprehend in an imago. It is in- 
dispensable to use variety. The ear is soon pained with 
sameness of tone, and the soul loaths a perpetual string 
of syllogisms. 

Ames in this respect was a master. He was easily 
excited, but exercised a sovereign power of self-control. 
He knew that it was necessary to be master of his own 
passions, in order to govern those of others. He as- 
sumed diversified forms and hues with Protean facility. 
Now he skims the ground and obscures himself in 
smoke ; anon he darts through the empyrean with corus- 
cations of flame, and with resplendent light illuminates 
the waters, the earth and the heavens. 

" The ra])id argument 
Soar'd in gorgeous flight, linking earth 
With heaven by golden chains of eloquence ; 
Till the mind, all its faculties and powers, 
Lay floating self-surrendered in the deep 
Of admiration." 

His imagination was imperial. The whole universe 
of nature and art were at its control and subordinated 
to its use. The beautiful and the sublime, those two 
great pulses of eloquence, he felt deeply and could em- 
body in multifarious forms. There were many stops of 
great power in the organ of his soul, and he could touch 
them all in a manner to suit his purpose and the time, — 
now piping in tender patlios, like night-winds sighing 



FISHER AMES. 337 

among reeds over a fountain in a lonely dell, and, on 
more fearful oceasions, crashing on the startled ear like 
bursting tempests, or distress-guns booming amid the 
awful magnificence of elemental storms. 

His power of giving a rapid sketch of a comprehen- 
sive and diversified field, is exemplified in the following 
paragraph. He is speaking of the ambition of a nation 
whose infidelity he dreaded. "Behold France, conduct- 
ing her intrigues and arraying her force between the 
arctic circle and the tropics; see her, in Russia, the 
friend of despotism ; in Ireland, the auxiliary of a bloody 
democracy; in Spain and Italy, a papist; in Egypt, a 
mussulman ; in India, a bramin ; and at home, an athe- 
ist ; countenancing despotism, monarchy, democracy, 
religion of every sort, and none at all, as suits the neces- 
sity of the moment." 

As an example of his illustrious imagination, take the 
following. He is speaking of England as a model of 
national industry to be imitated, rather than the nations 
on the continent. Among the latter he proceeds to say: 
"Commerce has not a single ship; arts and manufac- 
tures exist in ruins and memory only ; credit is a spectre 
that haunts its burying-place ; justice has fallen on its 
own sword ; and liberty, after being sold to Ishmaelites, 
is stripped of its bloody garments to disguise its rob- 
bers." 

Mr. Ames habitually dealt in a copious use of figures 
of speech. In his eulogy on Washington, he discourses 
as follows : 

" Great generals have arisen in all ages of the world, 
and perhaps most in those of despotism and darkness. 
15 



338 ORATORS OI' TIIK AMIORICAN REVOLUTION. 

In times of violence ;uul convulsion, ihcy rise, by the 
force of the whirlwind, hi^h enou<fh to ride in it, and 
direct the storm. Like meteors, tluiy glare on the black 
clouds with a splendor, which, while it d;i/.7.1es and ter- 
rifies, makes nothiniv visible but the (hirkness. The fame 
of heroes is indeed growing vulgar; ihey multiply in 
every long war; they stand in history, and thicken in 
their ranks, almost as undistinguished as their own sol- 
diers. 

"But such a chief magistrate as Washington ai>pcars 
like the pole-star in a clear sky, to direct the skillful 
statesman. His Presidency will form an epoch, and be 
distinguished as the ago of Washington. Already it 
assumes its high place in the political region. Like the 
milky way, it whitens along its allotted jiortion of the 
hemisphere. The latest generations of men will survey, 
through the telescope of history, the si)ace where so 
many virtues blend their rays, and delight to separate 
them into groups and distinct virtues. As the best 
illustration of them, the living monument, to which the 
first of patriots would have chosen to consign his fame, 
it is iriy earnest prayer to heaven, that our country inay 
subsist, even to that late day, in the ])lenitu(lc of its 
liberty and happiness, and mingle its mild glt>ry with 
Washington's." 

But, after all, the chief excellence in Mr. Ames, and 
one that renders him a worthy model to be emulated 
by all public speakers, was his great industry and oaro 
in improving to perfection the chaste beauty of his 
style. As a specimen of his elaborate composition, and 
at the same time the very best description of himself, 



FISHEll AVIKH. 339 

we will take the following extract from his encomium on 
Alexander Haniilloa : 

"It is rare that a man, who owes so much to niituro, 
descends to seek more from industry ; but he seemed to 
depend on industry, as if nature had d(jiie nothing for 
him. Ilis habits of investigation were very remarkable ; 
his mind seemed to cling to his subject, till it had ex- 
hausted it. Hence the uncommon superiority of his 
reasoning powers, a superiority that seemed to bu aug- 
mented from every source, and to be fortified by every 
auxilary, learning, taste, wit, imagination, and eloquence. 
These were embellished and enforced by his temper and 
manners, by his iame and his virtu(;s. 1 1, is dillicuh, in 
the midst of such various excellence, to say in what 
particular the eflect of his greatness was most nianifcst. 
No man more promptly discerned truth ; no man more 
clearly displayed it : it was not merely made visible — it 
seemed to come bright with illumination from his lips. 
But prompt and clear as he was, fervid as Demosthenes, 
like Cicero, full of resource, he was not less remarkable 
for the copiousness and completeness of his argument, 
and left little for cavil, and nothing for doubt. Some 
men take their strongest argument as a weapon, and 
use no other; but he left nothing to bo incjuired for 
more — nothing to be answered. lie not only disarmed 
his adversaries of their pretexts and objections, but he 
stripped tliem of all excuse ior having urged them; he 
confounded and subdued, as well as convinced. He 
indemnified them, however, by making his discussion 
a complete map of his subject; so that his opponents 
might, indeed, feel ashamed of their mistakes, but they 



340 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

could not repeat them. In fact, it was no common 
effort that preserved a really ahle antagonist from 
becoming his convert ; for the truth, which his re- 
searches so distinctly presented to the understanding of 
others, was rendered almost irresistibly commanding 
and impressive by tiie love and reverence, which, it 
was ever apparent, he profoundly cherished for it in his 
own. While patriotism glowed in his heart, wisdom 
blended in his speech her authority with her charms." 

We have said that Fisher Ames, among our Revo- 
lutionary statesmen, was the orator of genius. We 
mean by this that he possessed something higher and 
better than mere talent. 

Genius is the native breath of the most richly endowed, 
luxuriating in every thing beautiful and fair, — the 
inspired vision which makes the future present, and the 
distant near, — a lingering reminiscence of the infinite 
ocean from which we all emerged, and a vivid prognos- 
tic of an eternity to come. It is a rare possession, the 
line of demarcation between the highest form of the 
intellectual, and the lowest form of the divine, causing 
its possessor to be a " maker" of things, most like God ; 
a "declarer" who speaks the highest law in tones like 
the sound of many waters, and with a splendor as pure 
and pervading as the light of heaven. 

It is the quality of genius to flow, while plodding 
talent has a constant tendency to freeze. He who is 
blessed with the first, passes through life as a broad and 
placid river traverses continents, and, in its calm but 
irresistible course, reflects every natural charm. Ben 
Jonson possessed an extraordinary opulence of thought ; 



FISHER AMES. 341 

but it was the produce of the amassing power of talent, 
not, as in Shakspeare, the creative power of genius. 
Materials, which, in the hands of talent, are but herbs 
and crude metal, — papyrus and bronze, — by the magical 
touch of genius are elevated into stupendous archi- 
tecture, temples that outlive the Pyramids, around which 
the deluo;e of ao;es roars in vain. 

Talent accomplishes results with slow toil, like Cali- 
ban ; while genius works its spontaneous wonders like 
the wand of Prospero. The traces of talent are dis- 
covered by the searcher after excellence; but genius 
strikes us like the lightning, without the eye being 
obliged to look for it. It illumines every thing with its 
own broad clear flash. Genius is daring, thinks for 
itself, and pursues Its ends out of the beaten track ; 
while talent plods on after the manner and dictum of 
others, and is applauded only by critics of the same 
taste and mental calibre. 

Talent takes impressions from beautiful objects ; 
genius creates its own originals. Talent collects data 
and from them deduces conclusions ; genius overleaps 
the intermediate process and reaches the same result by 
intuition. Newton had genius, and it discovered the 
law of gravitation ; he also had talent, and with this he 
proved it. The higher attribute is necessary to render 
one great in his own presence ; the other must be em- 
ployed to render one useful to the world. Without the 
sun, the universe is a chaos ; jjenius kindles an orio-inal 
flame, and talent walks in the light thereof. 

Exact definitions of these qualities are difficult, but 
Ames was certainly not entirely wrong when he said 



342 ORATORS OP THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

that, "talent might be compared to a bee, gathering 
honey from every flower, but creating none ; while 
genius is like a spider, it spins from its own bowels." 
We may add that genius is insatiable, and becomes 
vigorous in proportion as it is appropriately fed. Like 
the Phoenix, which rises renovated from its own ashes, or 
the vitals of Prometheus which grew as fast as the vul- 
tures devoured them, the finer powers of the soul become 
purified by the flames they traverse, and are strengthen- 
ed by the struggles they endure. Lord Brougham is 
an orator of talent, but Fisher Ames was the orator of 
genius. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
WILLIAM PINKNEY, 

THE ACCOMri.ISI)]- D COUNSELI,OR. 

Serjeant Talford, one of the most elegant scholars 
and able lawyers now practising in Westminster Hall, 
has said that there is no pursuit in life which appears 
more captivating at a distance than the profession of the 
bar. " It is the great avenue to political influence and 
reputation ; its honors are among the most splendid 
which can be attained in a free State; and its emolu- 
ments and privileges are exhibited as prizes, to be con- 
tested freely by all its members. Its annals celebrate 
many individuals who have risen from the lowest ranks 
of the people, by fortunate coincidence, or by patient 
labor, to w'ealth and station, and have become the 
founders of fortunate famihes. If the young aspirant 
perceives, even in his hasty and sanguine glance, that 
something depends on fortuitous circumstances, the con- 
viction only renders the pursuit more inviting, by adding 
the fascinations of a game of chance to those of a trial 
of skill. If he is forced to confess that a sacrifice of 
principle is occasionally required of the candidate for 
its more lucrative situations, he glories in the pride of 



344 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

untempted virtue, and pictures himself generously re- 
sisting the bribe which would give him riches and 
authority in exchange for conscious rectitude and the 
approbation of the good and the wise. While he sees 
nothing in the distance, but glorious success, or more 
glorious self-denial, he feels braced for the severest exer- 
tion ; nerved for the fiercest struggle ; and regards every 
throb of an impatient ambition as a presage of victory." 

Among the early, persevering and triumphant devo- 
tees at the shrine of Thermis, in America, William 
Pinkney, of Maryland, stands pre-eminent. He was 
born at Annapolis, on the 17th of March, 1764. His 
father was an Englishman and a tory, but the son early 
avowed his ardent attachment to republican liberties, 
and to the last struggled for the independence which in 
boyhood he espoused. 

He commenced his law studies in the office of Justice 
Chase, in 1783, and was called to the bar in 1786. His 
first efforts commanded public admiration, and to the 
minds of the sagacious foretokened eminent success. 
At that time the law of real property, and the science of 
special pleading, were the two great departments of 
legal study, and in these he was considered accurate 
and profound. "His style of speaking," says Wheaton, 
" was marked by an easy flow of natural eloquence and 
a happy choice of language. His voice was very melo- 
dious, and seemed a most winning accompaniment to 
his pure and effective diction. His elocution was calm 
and placid — the very contrast to that strenuous, vehe- 
ment, and emphatic manner, which he subsequently 
adopted." 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 345 

In 1786, Mr. Pinkney removed to Harford County, 
where he practiced his profession, and in 1788, was 
elected a delegate to the State Convention which rati- 
fied the Constitution of the United States. In the same 
year, he was elected to represent the county of Harford 
in the House of Delegates, which position he continued 
to occupy until 1792, when he removed to Annapolis. 
In 1789, he married Miss Ann Maria Rodgers, sister to 
Commodore Rodgers, the celebrated ornament of our 
navy. 

While in the State legislature, Pinkney distinguished 
himself in several important debates. In 1789 he made 
an admirable speech on the voluntary emancipation of 
slaves, nearly the whole of which has been preserved. 
The following are brief extracts which illustrate his 
character and exemplify his style : 

" The door to freedom is fenced about with such bar- 
barous caution, that a stranger would be naturally led 
to believe that our statesmen considered the existence of 
its opposite among us as the sine qua non of our pros- 
perity ; or, at least, that they regarded it as an act of the 
most atrocious criminality to raise an humble bondsman 
from the dust, and place him on the stage of life on a 
level with their citizens. 

"Eternal infamy awaits the abandoned miscreants, 
whose selfish souls could ever prompt them to rob un- 
happy Afric of her sons, and freight then"i hither by 
thousands to poison the fair Eden of liberty with the 
rank weed of individual bondage! 

"Sir, it is really matter of astonishment to me that 
the people of Maryland do not blush at the very name of 
15* 



346 OKATOKS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

freedom. That they who have, by tlie deUberate acts 
of tlieir legishiture, treated her most obvious dictates 
with contempt ; who have exhibited for a long series of 
years, a spectacle of slavery which they are still solicit- 
ous to perpetuate ; who, not content with exposing to 
the workl lor near a century, a speaking picture of 
abominable oppression, are still ingenious to prevent the 
hand of generosity from robbing it of half its horrors; 
that theij should step forward as the zealous partizans of 
freedom, cannot but astonish a persou who is not cas- 
uist enough to reconcile antipathies. 

'"For shame, sir! let us throw otl'the mask, 'tis a cob- 
web one at best, and the world will see through it. It 
will not do thus to talk like philosophers, and act like 
unrelenting tyrants; to be perpetually sermonizing 
with liberty for our text, and actual oppression for our 
connnentary."' 

In 179'3, Mr. Pinkney was elected a member of the 
Executive Council of Maryland, in which office he re- 
mained until November, 1795, when he resigned his 
seat as President of the Board, to assume still higher 
functions to which he had been appointed. During all 
this time he was exceedingly assiduous in study, and rose 
rapidly to the head of the bar. and to a distinguished 
rank in the public councils o^ his native State. INIr. 
Walsh, speaking of this period of Pinkney 's life, savs, 
"His acuteness, dexterity, and zeal in the transaction of 
business; his readiness, spirit, and vigor in debate; the 
beauty and richness of his fluent elocution, adorned 
with the finest imagery drawn from classical lore and a 
vivid fancy; the manliness of his figure and the energy 



WIIJ-IAM PrNKNKY. .*J47 

of his tnicn, united with a sonorous and noxible voice, 
and a general anirriatidu find graceful delivery, wen; the 
qualities by which he attained this elevated standing." 

In 1790, he was selected by President Washington 
as one of the Cotnmissioners on the part of the United 
States, under the 7th :ir(iclo of Jay's treaty with (Jreat 
Britain. After some hesitatif)ii he acce])ted the trust, 
and embarked for London, where he arrived in July, 
1790. His services abroad were of a difficult character, 
but were executed with great care and success. In 
1804, hri returned to his country, and with enlarged 
capacities and renewed /cal entered again upon the toils 
of his profession. During his di[)lornatic mission al)road, 
he was ffir from relaxing his forensic studies. Like 
Homer's hero, though withdrawn from the field a while, 
his arm was not in the slightest unnerved by indolent 
repose. lie obtained in retirement a full suit of Vulca- 
nian armor, and renewed the conHict with fresh strength, 
with a facility and force of action more propitious to the 
combatant than unremitted battle might have proved. 
He returned to the American bar and Senate, to " shed 
lustre upon letters, renown upon C'ongross, glory on the 
country." 

Soon after Mr. Pinkney's rotui'n from Englanri, he 
removed to Baltimore, and commenced attending the 
Supreme Court at Washington. In 1805, he was ap- 
pointed Attorney-General of Maryland, and may be 
considered as having then entered upon the widest 
sphere of professional honor and emolument. At this 
point, let us more minutely analyze his character, and 
consider the instrunnentalities he employed. 



348 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Like all proficients in every profession who win a 
wide and enduring fame, Pinkney laid his foundation 
deep and strong in a truly liberal education. In early 
manhood his classical training was imperfect, but in ma- 
ture life he abundantly repaired all deficiencies. An 
anecdote is related of him which strikingly illustrates his 
character in this respect. When at the Court of St. 
James, he was dining in company with Burke, Sheridan, 
Fox, and a ho;t of great names, when a discussion arose 
upon a passage in Virgil. All of the guests expressed 
their opinions but Mr. Pinkney, and as he had said 
nothing, jn-o or con., they appealed to him as umpire. 
He had to confess his ignorance of the Latin language ; 
but when he left the company, ho sent immediately for 
a teacher, and commenced the study of it. The result 
was, that, amid all the tumultuous cares of exalted sta- 
tions, he continued to prosecute the study of ancient 
literature and became an accomplished classical scholar. 
He accustomed himself to acute observation and un- 
tiring application. Abroad, as well as at home, he 
emulated the best models, and was ambitious of the 
highest honors. He w^as as unremitting in his search 
for the elements of oratorical power and professional 
celebrity, as ever was alchymist in pursuit of his golden 
secret. This is always a happy omen, since, as Johnson 
has said, " Men's ambition is generally proportioned to 
their capacity. Providence seldom sends any one into 
the world with an inclination to attempt great things, 
who has not likewise abilities to perfoini them." 

But our renewed countryman's heart did not only 
" run o'er in silent worship of the great of old ;" he was 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 349 

assiduous in winning excellence from the most promi- 
nent among his cotemporories. His residence in Lon- 
don, in intimate connection with the most distinguished 
masters of the bench and bar, was of great service in 
consummating Mr. Pinkney's forensic education. When- 
ever his diplomatic duties allowed, he was constant in 
attendance in all the higher courts, and critical in his 
analysis of all the proceedings. Hence, when he re- 
turned to the American bar, it was observed that he had 
lost nothing in legal attainment by absence, but had 
gained immensely. He resumed his position in the lists, 
completely armed at every point. 

The two men abroad who stood highest in Pinkney's 
esteem, and the latter of whom he not onlv admired but 
imitated, were Sir William Scott, and Mr. Erskine. 
According to the following estimate of Scott, by Lord 
Brougham, no jurist was worthier of being emulated. 
"Sir William Scott's learning, extensive and profound 
in all professional matters,- was by no means confined 
witiiin that range. He was amply and accurately en- 
dowed with a knowledge of all history of all times; 
richly provided with the literary and the personal por- 
tion of historical lore ; largely furnished with stores of 
the more curious and recondite knowledge which judi- 
cious students of antiquity, and judicious students only, 
are found to amass ; and he jiossessed a rare facility of 
introducing such matters felicitously for the illustration 
of an argument or a topic, whether in debate or in more 
familiar conversation. But he was above the pedantry 
which disdains the gratification of a more ordinary and 
cvery-day curiosity. No one had more knowledge of 



350 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

the common affairs of life ; and it was at all times a cur- 
rent observation, that the person who first saw any sight 
exhibiting in London, be it production of nature or of 
art or of artifice, was Sir William Scott — who could 
always steal for such relaxations an hour from settling 
the gravest questions that could be raised on the rights 
of nations or the ecclesiastical law of the land. Above 
all, he was a person of great classical attainments. Of 
diction, he was among the greatest masters, in all but its 
highest department of energetic declamation and fervent 
imaagery." 

Probably few devotees ever adorned and emulated 
the "god of their idolatrj'," so passionately as did Mr. 
Pinkney his friend, the great forensic orator, Erskine. 
He had learned much from the severe dialectics of 
Scott; he was thoroughly enraptured by the masterly 
arguments and appeals of Erskine. He had often heard 
of him in his happiest effljrts, and seems never to have 
lost the inspiration which he imbibed as a spectator of 
the splendid strife. Nothing is more natural to gifted 
minds than insensibly to imitate what they habitually 
admire. Intentionally or unintentionally, it is well 
known that Pinkney had caught many of the peculiar 
airs of his great model. Talking one day to a fellow 
practitioner about Erskine, he started up and said, " I'll 
give you a specimen of his manner." " And," says his 

brother lawyer, "it was an admirable specimen of 

Mr. Pinkney." 

Emulation of living masters is doubtless a good prac- 
tice, when the best models are selected, and their faults 
are avoided. But, unfortunately, the excrescences 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 351 

which are most prominent and least valuable, are ordi- 
narily the first copied. Herein is the danger, since no 
one can ever be great by imitation alone. Mr. Pinkney, 
however, possessed extraordinary natural abilities, and 
did not incur dangers so great as those that threaten 
mediocrity whenever imitation is indulged. Moreover, 
the model he chose to adopt, was second to none then 
extant. " The eloquence of Lord Erskine," says a 
distinguished critic, " was of a very high order. Though 
never deficient in any of those qualities, it was not 
indebted for its excellence either to beauty of diction, 
or to richness of ornament, or to felicity of illustration ; 
— it was from its unrivalled strensrth and vigor that it 
derived its superior character. The intenseness, the 
earnestness, the vehemence, the energy of the advocate, 
were ever present throughout his speeches, impressing 
his arguments upon the mind of the hearer with a 
force which seemed to compel conviction. Throughout 
even the longest of his speeches there is no weakness, 
no failing, no flagging ; but the same lively statement 
of facts, the same spirited and pointed exposition of 
argument. He never gave way to what he has happily 
termed " the Westminster Hall necessity" — of filling up 
his speech with common-places; but invariably pre- 
sented his subject in some striking or brilliant light, 
which never failed to rivet the attention, and to work 
upon the convictions of his audience." 

Mr. Pinkney possessed uncommon powers, cultivated 
with incessant care, and directed always toward the 
the grand aims of his profession. He had great power 
in dealing with facts, a facility in arraying and sifting 



352 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOI.ITTION. 

« 

evidence, and in arguinti; npon probabilities, which few 
or none could either anticijiatc or subvert. Among 
Other eminent attributes, he was especially distinguished 
for one which a high authority has declared that even 
Burke did not possess, — fierce, nervous, overwhelming 
declamation, and close, rapid argument. His career as 
an orator was a brilliant commentary on the lines of 
Percival : 

" Men are maile to bond 
Before tlio mi!:;;hty, and to follow on 
Submissive where the great may lead — the great, 
Whose might is not in crowns and palaces, 
In parchment rolls or blazoned heraldry, 
But in the power of tliought, the energy 
Of unsupported niimi, wliose steady will 
No fores can daunt, no tangled path divert 
From its high-onward purpose." 

Tiie ambition w'hich always seemed to actuate this 
great man at the bar was complex interest in the late 
of his client, and the promotion of his own fame. 
Undoubtedly, he was anibitious, as who that is worthy 
of esteem and destined to win it is not ? But his 
aspirations were honorable, and bent towards the goal 
of untarnished glory, rather than to the accumulation 
of sordid pelf In his letters on the study of Ilistoiy, 
addressed to the great grandson of the Earl of Clarendon, 
Bolingbroke, after speaking of the profession of the law 
as "in its nature the noblest and most beneficial to 
mankind, in its abuse and debasement, the most sordid 
and the most pernicious," makes the following remarks, 
both eloquent and true : " There have been lawyers that 



WILLIAiM riNKNEY. 353 

were orators, pliilosopliers, historians, — there have been 
Bacons and Clarendons, my lord. There will bo none 
such any nnore, till, in some better age, true ambition, 
or the love of fame, prevails over avarice, and till men 
find leisure and encouragement to prepare themselves 
for the exercise of this profession, by climbing up to the 
'vantage ground,' so my Lord Bacon calls it, of science; 
instead of grovelling all their lives below in a mean, but 
painful application to all the little acts of chicane. Till 
this happen, the f)rofession ol" the kiw will scarce deserve 
to be ranked among .the learned professions; and when- 
ever it ha[)[)ens, one of the 'vantage grounds,' to which 
men must climl>, is metaphysical, and the other historical, 
knowledge." 

Mr. Pinkney's mind was sufllciently acute to master 
the nicest metaphysics of law, and in this department 
he greatly excelled. Early in life, special pleading was 
his forte, and to the last he encountered no superior. 
He was often most eloquent on questions the most 
abstruse, as in the elucidation of great principles which 
involved black-letter precedents and feudal lore. Of his 
personal appearance and professional excellence, no 
one was better qualified to speak than Justice Story, 
and the following is tiis estimate of Mr. Pinkney's 
character : 

" For the last ten years of his life, he was never 
supposed, by any one, to be excelled by any other 
advocate, and rarely deemed to be equalled. His person 
was strong, compact, and muscular, exhibiting great 
vigor of action, with no small grace and ease of move- 
ment. His countenance, without being strikingly inter- 



354 ORATORS OF THE AMERIC!AN REVOUrTlON. 

esting for its intelligence, or suavity, was manly and 
open ; and, when excited by any discussion, was capable 
of the most powerful and various expression, suited, at 
once, for the playfulness of wit, the indignation of 
resentment or the solemn dignity of argumentation.* 
His mind was singularly sulule and penetrating, equally 
rapid in its conceptions, and felicitous in the exposition 
of the truths which it was emjiloyed to develo()c or 
analyze. In native genius, or, in other words, in the 
power to invent, select, illustrate, and combine topics 
for the purposes of argument, few men have been his 
superiors. But he did not rely exclusively on the 
resources of his genius, lie chastened, improved, and 
invigorated it by constant study, and l;d)orious disci- 
pline, lie was from early life a diligent student, not 
only of the law, but of general literature, and especially 
of classical literature. He was an^bitious to be not 
only a good, but an exact scholar ; not only a persua- 
sive, but an elegant writer ; not only a splendid, but a 
solid sjieaker ; full of matter, as well as of nietaphor ; 
able to convince, as well as to instruct and please. His 
professional learning was very extensive, deep, and 
accurate. It was the gradual accumulation of nearly 
forty years' steady devotion to the science, as well as 
practice, of jurisprudence. He ])ossessed a minute 
acquaintance with the ancient common law. Its tech- 
nical jtrinciples, and feudal peculiarities, its quaint 
illustrations, its subtle distinctions, and its artificial, but 
nice logic, were all familiar to his early thoughts, and 
enabled him, in the later periods of his life, to expound 
the abstruse doctrines of modern tenures and titles, 



VVILIJAM riNKNKY. .'{/iO 

with great lucility uiul j)ers[)icuity. But liis studies 
were not confined to mere researches into the doctrines 
of tlie old law. Ills niadiiii!; was very (sxleiisive in all 
the departments of" niod(;rn jurisprudence ; and his 
practice, which was, [)erha[)s, more various than that of 
any other American lawyer, led him to a daily ap[)Hca- 
tion of all his learning, in tlu; actual })usincss of the 
forum. Few men, in our country, had attained so 
exact, thorough, and m(!thodized a, knowledge as he of 
the general princi])I('S of tlu; I^avv oi' Nations; of" the 
doctrines of the J'ri/.e and Admiralty Courts; of the 
hroad and varif)us foundations of equity, jurisprudence, 
and of the admirahic theories, as well as i)ractical 
developments, of all the branches of Marititne and 
Commercial Law." 

Justice Story goes on to s[)eal( of Mr. Pird^ney's 
thorough mastery of" (yonstitutif)iia.l liaw, and of" his 
frequent exemplifications of exalted patriotism, hut our 
limits will not admit of farther quotation, except a few 
sentences on his oratorical mann(;r. "Jtwas original, 
impressive, and vcli(Miicnf. Wa had some natural and 
some acfpiired deli'cts, which mad(5 fiim, in some d(!gree, 
fall short of that exquisite; conc(;[)tif)n of" the imagination, 
a perfect orator. J lis voice was thick anfl guttural. It 
rose and fell with little melody and softening of tones, 
and was, occasionally, abrupt and harsh in its intona- 
tions, and wanting in liquidness and modulation. These, 
however, were venial faults, open to observation, indeed, 
but s(K)n forgotten by those wholist(!ned to his instructive 
and persuasive reasoning ; for no man could h(;ar him 
for any length of tinie without being led captive by liis 



356 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

eloquence. His imagination was rich and inventive ; 
his taste, in general, pure and critical ; and his memory 
uncommonly exact, full, and retentive. He attained a 
comj)lete mastery of the whole compass of the English 
language; and, in the variety of use, as well as the 
choice of diction, for all the purposes of his public labors, 
he possessed a marvelous felicity. It gave to his style 
an air of originality, force, copiousness, and expressive- 
ness, which struck the most careless observer. His 
power of amplification and illustration, whenever these 
were appropriate to his purpose, seemed almost inex- 
haustible ; though he possessed, at the same time, the 
power of condensation, both of thought and language, 
to a most uncommon degree." 

It woLiJd be easy to adduce passages from Mr. Pink- 
ney's printed remains to justify the above remarks on 
the substance and manner of his speech. Take the 
following from his celebrated reply to Mr. King on the 
Missouri Question : " Time, that withers the strength 
of man and ' strews around him, like autunmal leaves, 
the ruins of his proudest monuments,' produces great 
vicissitudes in modes of thinking and feeling. It brings 
along with it, in its progress, new circumstances — new 
combinations and modifications of the old — generating 
new views, motives, and caprices — new fanaticisms of 
endless variety — in short, new every thing. We our- 
selves are always changing — and what to-day we have 
but a small desire to attempt, to-morrow becomes the 
object of our passionate aspirations. 

" There is such a thing as enthusiasm, moral, religious, 
or political, or a compound of all three ; — and it is won- 



I 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 357 

derful what it will attempt, and from what imperceptible 
beginnings it sometimes rises into a mighty agent. 
Rising from some obscure or unknown source, it first 
shows itself a pett}- rivulet, which scarcely murmurs 
over the pebbles that obstruct its way — tlien it swells 
into a fierce torrent, bearing all before it — and then 
again, like some mountain stream which occasional 
rains have precipitated upon the valley, it sinks once 
more into a rivulet, and finally leaves its channel dry. 
Such a thing has happened. I do not say that it is now 
happening. It would not become me to say so. But 
if it should occur, woe to the unlucky territory that 
should be struggling to make its way into the Union at 
the moment when the opposing inundation was at its 
height, and at the same instant this wide Mediterranean 
of discretionary powers, which it seems is ours, should 
open all its sluices and, with a consentaneous rush, 
mingle with the turbid waters of the others." 

The best preserved argument ever delivered in the 
Supreme Court, by Mr. Pinkney, was the famous one 
in the case of the ship Nereide. It was evidently pre- 
pared with great care, and surviving witnesses attest 
that it was delivered with great effect. 

" With menacing hand, 
Put forth as in the acfion of command, 
And eyes, that darted their red lightning down," 

We are told that Lord Erskine, like many other 
characters of uncommon acuteness, had a morbid sensi- 
bility to the circumstances of the moment, which some- 
times strangely enfeebled his presence of mind; any 



358 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

appearance of neglect in his audience, a cough, a yawn, 
or a whisper, even among the mixed niukitude of the 
courts, and strong as he was there, has been known to 
disturb him visibly. I'inkncy had much of this acute 
sensibility, and something of its weakness ; but in him it 
was manifested in an extraordinary attention to the 
elegancies of dress. When he liad a cause of momentous 
interest to conduct, he elaborated every tiling before- 
hand with the utmost care, and came before the supreme 
tribunal chastely, but richly adorned within and without. 
Conceive him, dressed in the top of fashion, perfumed, 
and gloved, in oratorical attitude, with the most impe- 
rious air, delivering the following passage, while the 
foam starts at his mouth and adds terror to his action 
and look: "I entreat your honors to endeavor a per- 
sonification of this motley notion, and to iorgive me lor 
presuming to intimate, that if, after you have achieved 
it, you })ronounce the notion to be correct, you will 
have gone a great way to prepare us, by the authority 
of your oi)inion, to receive as credible history the 
worst parts of the mythology of the Pagan world. The 
Centaur and the Proteus of anticpiify will be fabulous 
no longer. 'JMie f)rosopop(eia to which I invite you is 
scarcely, indeed, within the power of fancy, even in her 
most riotous and capricious mood, when she is best 
able and most disposed to ft)rce incompatibilities into 
fleeting and shadowy combination, but it" you can 
accomplish it, it will give you something like the kid 
and the lion, the lamb and the tiger portentously incor- 
porated, with ferocity and meekness co-existent in the 



WIIJ-IAM I'INKNEY. 359 

result, niul e([u;il as motives of jiction. Tt will give you 
a ino(l(;i'ii Aiiia/oii, nior(; strangely constituted than 
those with whom ancient lable peopled the lj(;rders of 
the Thermodon — her voice compounded of the tre- 
mendous shout ol tlui Minerva of Homer and the 
gentle accents of a shejjherdess of Arcadia — with all the 
faculties and inclinations of turbulent and masculine 
War, and all the retiring modesty of virgin Peace. 
We shall have in one prrsonage th(i phiirc.lrtda Camilla 
of tlui ylMieid, and the Peneian maid o(" the Metamor- 
phosis. W(; shall have Neutrality, soft and gentle, and 
defenceless in herself, yet cla<l in the panoply of her 
v\;nlike nc.ighhors — with the frown of defiance upon her 
brow, and the smile ol" conciliation upon her lij) — with 
the spear of Achilles ni one iiand and a lying protesta- 
tion of innocence and helplessness unfolded in the other. 
Nay, if I may be allowed so bold a figure in a mere 
legal discussion, we shall have; the branch of olive 
entwined arounrl the bolt of .love, and Neutrality in 
th(; act r)f hulling thi' lormer, under the dec(Mtful cover 
of the latt(!r." 

The above is a fint; instance of the transform;ition of 
ni(;taphors int(j arguments; for as copious as the figures 
are, it \vill Ix; found, on consulting the matters under 
discussion, that none of them are impertinent, provided 
the position assumed is correct. This, unfortunately 
for tlu! elo([uent a(lvoe;it(! in this instance, was not the 
fact. The ethereal intellect of (Jhief .Justice Marsliall 
detect(Hl the sophism, and beautifully interpretcid the 
law in its relation to this case. I3ut the magnificence 



360 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

of the speech overruled imparted something of its 
charms to the judgment of the court, as it was rendered 
by its chief in language hke the following; 

"With a pencil dipped in the most vivid colors, and 
guided by the hand of a master, a splendid portrait has 
been drawn, exhibitinsj this vessel and her freighter as 
forming a single figure, composed of the most discord- 
ant materials of Peace and War. So exquisite was the 
skill of the artist, so dazzling the garb in which the 
figure was presented, that it required the exercise of that 
cold investigating faculty which ought always to belong 
to those who sit on this bench, to discover its only im- 
perfection — its want of resemblance. 

" The Nereide has not that centaur-like appearance 
which has been ascribed to her. She does not rove 
over the ocean, hurling the thunders of war, while 
sheltered by the olive branch of peace. She is an open 
and declared belligerent ; claiming all the rights, and sub- 
ject to all the dangers, of the belligerent character. The 
characters of the vessel and cargo remain as distinct in 
this as in any other case." 

Mr. Pinkney was every way a patriot. When the 
British, under General Ross, meditated an attack on 
Washington, he accepted the command of a volunteer 
corps, and marched to Bladensburg, where he was 
severely wounded. 

In March, 1816, he was again called to the diplomatic 
service of his country, being induced to accept the ap- 
pointment of Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of 
Russia, and of special Minister to that of Naples. Soon 
after this double mission had been conferred upon him, 



WILLIAM PINKNEY, 361 

in a conversation with one of liis friends, he said: 
" There are those who wonder that I will go abroad, 
however honorable the service. They know not how I 
toil at the bar; they know not all my anxious days and 
sleepless nights; I must breathe awhile; the bow for 
ever bent will break ;" " besides," he added, " I want to 
see Italy ; the orators of Britain I have heard, but I 
want to visit that classic land, the study of whose poetry 
and eloquence is the charm of my life ; I shall set my 
foot on its shores with feelings that I cannot describe, 
and return with new enthusiasm, I hope new advantages, 
to the habits of public speaking." 

This is the language of a true man and a true devotee 
at the shrine of excellence. He who does the most, is 
the least vain of his work. Genius, like the Apostle 
Paul, looks be3'ond the present, and sees things indescri- 
bable. The Iliad, the Parthenon, York Minster, the 
Transfiguration of the Vatican, and the Oratorio of 
Creation, when executed, were thrown behind their 
authors as incomplete embodiments of their thought. 
No true orator yet was ever satisfied with his best 
achievements. The greatest triumphs never make the 
consummate hero vain, for he has a vivid perception of 
the immense interval that lies between what he does, 
and what he conceives ought to be done. 

In 1818, Mr. Pinkney solicited his recall from Russia, 
which, being granted, he entered with fresh zeal upon 
the practice of his profession in the Supreme Court. 
In 1820, he took his seat in the American Senate, where 
he displayed extraordinary abilities, u'hile he still con- 
ducted an immense law business. "The success which 
16 



362 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

attended him every where," says his biographer, " was as 
much the eflect of extraordinary dihgence and labor as 
of his genius and rare endowments of mind. He was 
never satisfied with investigating his causes, and took 
infinite pains in explaining their facts and circum- 
stances, and all the technical learning connected with 
them. He constantly continued the practice of private 
declamation as a useful exercise, and was in the habit 
of premeditating his pleadings at the bar, and his other 
public speeches, — not only as to the general order or 
method to be observed in treating his subject, the 
authorities to be relied on, and the leading topics of 
illustration, but frequently as to the principal passages 
and rhetorical embellishments. These he sometimes 
wrote out beforehand ; not that he was deficient in 
facility or fluency, but in order to preserve the com- 
mand of a correct and elegant diction." 

Mr. Pinkne}' continued his professional labors at the 
session of the Court in 1822, with the intensest applica- 
tion and desire of success. On the 17th of February, 
he was attacked by a severe indisposition, brought on, 
doubtless, by great exertion in preparing for an impor- 
tant debate. On the 25th of the same month he expired, 
and was entombed in the Congressional burying-ground. 
Richard Henry Wilde, a great and good man, recently 
a victim to the pest in New Orleans, thus speaks of him 
in his " Stars of the Fourteenth Congress." " There was 
a gentleman from Maryland, whose ashes now sleep in 
our cemeter)' . It is not long since I stood by his tomb, 
and recalled him, as he was then, in all the pride and 
power of his genius. Among the first of his countrymen 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 3G3 

and cotemporaries as a jurist and statesman, first as an 
orator, he was, if not truly eloquent, the prince of rhe- 
toricians. Nor did the soundness of his logic suffer 
any thing by a comparison with the richness and classi- 
cal purity of the language in which he copiously poured 
forth those figurative illustrations of his argument, which 
enforced while they adorned it. But let others pro- 
nounce his eulogy. I must not. I feel as if his mighty 
spirit still haunted the scene of his triumphs, and, when 
I dared to wrong them, indignantly rebuked me." 

Awed by this solemn dissuasive from a critical judg- 
ment on the merits of the departed master whose pro- 
fessional character we have attempted briefly to de- 
lineate, it is indeed difficult any farther to proceed. 
But it is because the subject of this sketch was so 
admirable as a whole, that we should the more carefully 
scan the degree and complexion of his faults. No 
one is perfect, and the imperfections of the best are 
the most instructive of all. It was not from the pro- 
ductions of mediocrity, but from the master-pieces of 
Euripides and Phidias, that the refined critics of Greece 
took their examples of error. " Go to the Parthenon," 
said the sculptor to his aspiring pupil, "and find not 
what bunglers but what great men have left undone." 

We have seen that after Mr. Pinkney's long residence 
in London, and habitual attendance in Westminster 
Hall, he adopted a mode of address much moi'e violent 
than that which graced the beginning of his public 
career. In the opinion of many judicious persons, the 
change was no impi'ovement, and the elegance of his 
elocution did not keep pace with the augmentation of 



364 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

his intellectual stores. One ^vho studied him much and 
wisely, has said that " his mind was of an order that 
could rather acquire than create. Acgumentative and 
subtle ; his figures of speech, his flights of fancy, cost 
him more labor than his argument; he almost always 
wrote them out, and committed them to memory.- His 
fancy did not grow out of his subject, like the leaf from 
the summer bough ; it was rather stuck on it, like a 
flower in a cap, for display ; and a certain chilliness 
reminded us that it was a hot-house plant — a forced 
cultivation. Yet as a lawyer, I know not his superior; 
and no man could do better than to confide his case to 
Mr. Pinkney — because he never neglected it, through 
indolence, pleasure, or inattention ; and, if he took it in 
hand, he attended to it, not more for emolument, than 
for success and fame." This is explicit, and, without 
doubt, just. From all we can learn, he was generally 
most frigid when he was most vociferous. This is 
usually the case. Unlike the dread scene at Sinai, the 
lightnings blaze and the thunders crash, but no law is 
delivered. Like begets like. When noisy declamation 
proceeds from the head rather than the heart, it is the 
head only that it will reach. He was erudite in legal 
knowledge, ingenious and stringent in argument, some- 
times fanciful to excess, but not often truly impassioned. 
His tumult was more like the falling of an avalanche 
than the bursting of a volcano. 

The practice of accurate premeditation and careful 
composition, we have several times observed, was 
habitual with Mr. Pinkney. In this respect he was 
directly opposed to that great master of the English 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 3G5 

forum, whom in many traits he resembled, Charles 
James Fox. Brougham says of the latter that, " One of 
his worst speeches, if not his worst, is that upon Francis, 
Duke of Bedford; and it is known to be almost the only 
one he ever much prepared, and the only one he ever 
corrected for the press." But that such careful prepara- 
tion ofters no necessary impediment to the most enrap- 
turing oratory is evident from the example of Sheridan. 
It is notorious that he never made a speech of any im- 
portance, without first writing out its main points and 
most thrilling passages over and over again. Indeed, 
when his affairs became so deranged as to forbid such 
minute and elaborate preparation, he ceased to speak in 
public altogether. Still, in the instance of our country- 
man, the fastidiousness of his taste may have chilled the 
fervor of his emotions. That which serves best in a 
written disquisition is often least effective in spoken 
discourse. It has been said that a didactic poet is a 
contradiction in terms; the remark is equally true in 
respect to didactic eloquence. In a popular audience, 
it is never permitted to make the hearer a mere pas- 
sive listener; his presence must be felt by the speaker, 
and he must not only be identified with the passing 
scene but kindled into sympathy by direct personal 
appeals. 

Aristotle, speaking of certain old philosophers, com- 
pared them to undisciplined gladiators, who strike at 
random instead of right forward, and therefore fight 
with little efl^ect, though they may occasionally deal a 
powerful blow. Our hero was too well trained to strike 
much at random, and he had too much force in all his 



366 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

well-aimed blows to fail in felling his unwary antagonist 
to the ground. From the ordinary placidity which 
characterizes the forensic eloquence of our age, Pink- 
ney as widely differed, as the style of Addison differs 
from that of Dryden. The. former has been liken- 
ed to a clear and transparent stream, whose motion is 
too gentle to ruffle the surface or sully the purity of its 
waters; whilst that of Dryden "has the impetuosity of 
a torrent, which often tears the weeds from its banks, 
and stirs up the ooze from the bottom of its channel ; 
but that ooze is mixed with grains of precious gold, and 
those weeds contain amongst them flowers of the most 
delightful hue and odor; whilst the very swiftness of 
the current fixes our regard more intensefy than the 
tranquil surface of the gentler stream. lie seems to 
have principally aimed at being strong and forcible, and 
to this object every minor consideration is sacrificed." 
After all is said, it must be acknowledged that the 
faults of Mr. Pinkney's manner were lost in the efful- 
gence of his matter, as the fervor of the sun hides its 
own spots. There was a vast body as well as mo- 
mentum in his argument; a power that generates suc- 
cess, daunts opposition, and annihilates resistance. Like 
the giants of ancient mythology, he was in his sphere 
and mode an ideal of strength. For ever should he be 
admired for his industry and patriotism. With all the 
advantage of uncommon outward talents, so intense 
and habitual was his love of intellectual improvement, 
that he considered every hour deducted from study as 
worthy of a black pebble. Titus never more deeply 
mourned the loss of a dav. What the greatest of Irish 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 367 

orators said of the best of Eniilish statesmen may not 
unjustly be said of Pinkney, and to have deserved the 
encomium is an honor sufficient to prompt and reward 
the ambition of any man. "No state chicanery, no 
narrow system of vicious poHtics, no idle contests for 
mere party victories, regardless of principle, ever sunk 
him to the vulgar level of the so called s;reat." 



CHAPTER XIV. 
WILLIAM WIRT, 

THE ELEGANT ADVOCATE. 

Eloquent and upright lawyers have ever been among 
the first to resist oppression and promote human weal. 
Demosthenes, who roused the Athenians to resist the 
tyranny of Philip, was an advocate. Cicero, the anta- 
gonist of oppressors and the savior of his country, was 
an advocate. When Charles the First commenced his 
despotic exactions, it was the advocates of England 
who first breasted the torrent. France was revolu- 
tionized by advocates ; and her best patriots at this 
moment are the ablest leaders at her bar. When the 
enormities of Great Britain threatened subjugation to 
her colonies in the west, it was the voice of such advo- 
cates as Otis, Henry and Adams, that, like a Paladin's 
horn, roused the people of America to conquest and 
liberty. From the first planting of republican institu- 
tions in our land, advocates have perpetually kindled 
the beacon-lights of patriotism and law — " hope of the 
fettered slave and glory of the free." Prominent in this 
noble class was 

Williajn Wirt. His parents were a Swiss and a 



VVILMAM WIUT. 3G9 

German, who resided, at the time of his birth, Nov. 8th, 
1772, at Bladensburg, near Washiiisrton. Ilis father 
(hed when lie was an infant ; and his mother wlien he 
was but eight years old. Like most great men, he was 
early left or[)haned of every thing but resolution and 
iiope, to antagonize with worldly adversity, and, in the 
midst of stoiMus, to i)uil(l his forUines. 

Alter suitable preparatory studies, he went to Lees- 
burg, Virginia, and when seventeen years old, com- 
menced the study of law in the office of Mr. Swarm. 
lie seems to have jjrosecuted his studies with great 
diligence and success. Among other good Influences 
under which his mind was there developed, he was ever 
of the opinion that he derived much advantage from the 
beauty and sublimity of the natural scenery which en- 
compassed him. Undoubtedly, his conclusion on that 
point was con:pct. There is always a striking resem- 
blance between the predominating character of local 
scenery and the minds matured under its hifluence. 
Edmund Burke grew up amid the most gorgeous 
scenery of Ireland, and Daniel Webster was cradled 
in the Ijosom of the White Mountains of New Hamp- 
i-'hire, where all in nature is cool, colossal, sublime. 

]Mr. Wirt obtained his license to practice law in 1702, 
a few days before he was twenty years old. Tlie first 
cause in which he was engaged was in Culpepper 
County, on which occasion his argument is said to have 
been firm, collected and successful. 

For several years, he resided in the family of Dr. G. 
Gilmer, whose daughter he married in 1795. The 
Doctor had a high professional and classical reputation, 
IG* 



370 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

and was on familiar 1erms with tlie first men of the day. 
Here Wirt became acquainted with Monroe, Madison, 
Jefl'erson, and other eminent citizens, whose learning 
he emulated, and in whose society he greatly improved. 

After the death of his wife, in 1799, he was elected 
Clerk of the House of Delegates of Virginia, which 
brought him into the sphere of some of his greatest 
achievements. His first appearance in Richmond, as a 
speaker, was upon the 4th of July, 1800, and in the 
celebrated trial of Callender. In 1802, he was elected 
Chancellor of the Lower District of the Chancery Court, 
held at Williamsburg. In the autumn of that year he 
married Miss Gamble, who survived him. During thir- 
teen years, the time of his residence at Richmond and 
Norfolk, he conducted a great many civil and criminal 
causes, and competed successfully with the Tazewells, 
Taylors, Wickhams, Randolphs, and other distinguished 
men who adorned the Virginia bar. 

One of the first trials which engaged his attention, 
after his return to Richmond, and which gave him a 
wide reputation, was the prosecution of Aaron Burr, in 
1807. To him, as much as to any of the counsel en- 
gaged, belonged the commendation of the court, that 
" a degree of eloquence, seldom displayed on any occa- 
sion, embellished solidity of argument and depth of 
research." 

In 1808, Mr. Wirt was elected to the House of Dele- 
gates from Richmond, and during that year drew up 
several important State papers. The British Spy was 
written in 1803; the Old Bachelor, in 1812; and in 
1817, he published the Life of Patrick Henry. 



WILLIAM WIRT. 371 

In 1816, Mr. Madison appointed Mr. Wirt District- 
Attorney for Virginia ; and in the following year, at the 
age of forty-five, he was appointed by Mr. Munroe, 
Attorney-General of the United States. Unlike his pre- 
decessors, he removed permanently to Washington, and 
continued there throughout eleven years and four 
months, more than twice the time the office had been 
held by any other. He was very strict in his attention 
to official duties, and exceedingly laborious. He insti- 
tuted a new practice in the office, and not only filed 
every document for future reference, but made a regular 
record of every official opinion and letter he wrote. 
Three large volumes of this kind he left for the use of 
the future historian of the jurisprudence of the country, 
more valuable material, no doubt, than can be gathered 
from all the previous incumbents of his office since the 
government was formed. 

In 1826, at the request of the citizens of Washington, 
he delivei'ed an eulogy on xVdams and Jefferson. It 
was deemed one of the most masterly productions 
which that melancholy event occasioned. In the winter 
of 1822, he was severely attacked by a disease resem- 
bling apoplexy, and was compelled to resign his position 
as Attorney-General. 

But he did not cease to prosecute with ardor the duties 
of his profession. His aid was sought by individuals, 
by corporations, by States, and even by the government 
itself, in matters of the greatest importance. He visit- 
ed every part of the Union, in his professional capacity, 
and every where commanded admiration by his great 
legal and personal worth. 



372 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Having now glanced over the greater part of his 
career as an advocate, we propose in ampler detail to 
delineate his character and examine his claims on our 
regard. Let us inquire into his scholarship, his effi- 
ciency as a lawyer, and his excellence as a man. 

Mr. Wirt enjoyed no collegiate course of studies in 
early life, but from the first he was habitually studious, 
and before the meridian of his manhood he had become 
a ripe proficient in the classics, both ancient and 
modern. Horace, A'^irgil, Cicero, and Seneca, were his 
favorite Latin authors ; the first was a constant inmate 
of his valise in all his visitations to county courts, and 
often his companion late at night. His juvenile tastes 
inclined to works of fiction ; but in maturer life he pre- 
ferred Bacon, Boyle, Locke, and Hooper. His reading 
was incessant, discriminating, and comprehensive. He 
ranged over the whole domain of letters and science 
with irrepressible ardor. It was his custom to prosecute 
the study of the philosophy of law always in connection 
with the philosophy of mind. He mingled the investi- 
gation of material sciences v.'ith the highest spiritual 
truths. Astronomy, with the natural phenomena con- 
nected therewith, was a favorite theme with him, but 
moral science was his master passion. He garnered 
rich stores of diversified knowledge, much of which was 
contributed by the graceful Nine under Apollo's core; 
but, in general his weapons were of a sterner kind, many 
of the most potent shafts of his quiver being drawn from 
the glorious armory of Hooker and Chillingworth. 
About the time some poetical extracts from Wirt's 
famous speech against Burr were widely published, an 



WILLIAM WIRT. 373 

eminent jurist expressed to one of iiis most intimate and 
learned friends a doubt as to his possessing much ab- 
struse legal erudition. "Your estimate is wrong,'' was 
the reply. "Ilis true character is that of a laborious, 
profound lawyer, more conversant with the black letter 
than even with works of taste, poetry, and fiction." 

It is believed that Mr. Wirt, was, indeed, liberally 
educated to an eminent degree. His knowledge of his- 
tory, of the ancient and modern classics, and of legal 
science, was varied and profound, while his political in- 
formation and sagacity equalled his other accomplish- 
ments. A mere acquaintance with the technicalities of 
the law will not constitute a successful lawyer in 
America. Eloquence goes far to make the powerful 
advocate here. To this primary requisite, extensive 
learning of a general character, and elegant acquisitions 
which shall fortify and adorn that eloquence, must harmo- 
niously unite. His outfit for professional strife must be 
practical as well as profound. " He who has collected his 
knowledge in solitude, must learn its application by mix- 
ing with mankind," said Doctor Johnson. On review- 
ing Mr. Wirt's qualifications as an advocate, and the 
successful use he made of his powers, we think that it 
may be said, of him justly, as was said of George Can- 
ning, whom, in certain points he greatly resembled: 
" He was any thing rather than a mere scholar. In him 
w'cre combined, with a rich profusion, the most lively, 
original fancy — a happily retentive and ready memory — 
singular powers of lucid statement — and occasionally 
wit in all its varieties, now biting and sarcastic to over- 
whelm an antagonist — now pungent or giving point to 



374 ORATORS OF THE AMEXUCAN REVOLUTION. 

an argument — now playful for mere amusement, and 
bringing relief to a tedious statement, or lending a charm 
to dry chains of close reasoning." 

It is rare that genius is not conscious of its own la- 
tent powers. However discouraged and prostrate the 
aspirant mny be at the outset, every great man expe- 
riences moments when he rises in dignified pride against 
those who persecute or forget him, and, without wait- 
ing for the commemorative statues which admiring pos- 
terity are sure to erect, confidently crowns himself with 
his own hands. 

" There liave been those that from the deepest caves, 
And cells of nig;ht, and fastnesses, below 
The stormy dashing of the ocean-waves, 
Down, farther down than gold lies hid, have nurs'd 
A quenchless hope, and watch'd their time, and burst 
On the bright day like wakeners from their graves." 

Wirt wrote tlie "British Spy," while he was a stu- 
dent, or immediately after he commenced the practice/ 
of his profession. His eloquent description of the nuvi 
homines, the new men, was to no one more applicable 
than himself. The magnificent yearnings embodied in 
the essays written in early manhood on the means and 
purposes of eloquence, betrayed his prevailing tastes and 
foretokened his success. "Genius," says Du Bas, "is 
an aptitude, which man has received from nature to per- 
form well and easily, that which others can do but indif- 
ferently, and with a great deal of pains. We learn to 
execute things for which we have a genius, with as 
much facility as we speak our own mother tongue." 
There can be no doubt that WLi-t's genius was of the 



WILLIAM WIRT. 375 

highest order, but he began and continued through his 
whole splendid career under the deep and abiding con- 
viction that eminent success depended on the most as- 
siduous self cultivation. His favorite pursuits indicated 
his native capacities, and his extraordinary industry 
justified the glowing prophecies of his most sagacious 
friends. Every person who has decided tastes and 
fervid aspirations, in other words, who has a strong in- 
dividuality of his own, will be forcibly moved by cor- 
responding traits in the objects he contemplates and the 
excellence he adores. A man's favorite pursuits and 
most admired authors, even the works of art he most 
enjoys, are a sure index to the calibre and complexion 
of his mind. The peculiar delight felt in a given pursuit 
or recreation, if carefully analyzed, will be found mainly 
to depend on the resemblance between the object ad- 
mired and the mental character of the devotee. 

What Mr. Wirt's prevailing passion and pursuits 
were we may easily learn from the following extract 
from an admirable letter of advice he wrote in the 
maturity of his life to a young gentleman engaged in 
the study of law. His benevolence and wisdom are 
therein signalized. "It requires a [)revious acquaintance 
with the student, to ascertain the natural condition of 
his various powers, in order to know wliich requires 
the spur and which the rein. In some minds, imagina- 
tion overpowers and smothers all the faculties ; in 
others, reason, like a sturdy oak, throws all the rest into 
a sickly shade. Some men have a morbid passion for 
the study of poetry — others, of mathematics, &c., &c. 
All this may be corrected by discipline, so far as it may 



37G ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

be judicious to correct it. I believe in all sound minds 
the germ of all the faculties exists, and may, by skillful 
management, be wooed into expansion ; but they exist 
naturally in different degrees of health and strength, 
and as this matter is generally left to impulses of nature 
in each individual, the highest and strongest germs get 
the start — give impulse and direction to the eflbrts of 
each mind — stamp its character and shape its destiny. 
As education, therefore, now stands among us, each 
man must be his own preceptor in this respect, and by 
turning his eyes upon himself, and describing the com- 
parative action of his own powers, discover which of 
them requires the most tone — which, if any, less. We 
must take care, however, not to make an erroneous 
estimate of the relative value of the faculties, and thus 
commit the sad mistake of cultivating the showy at the 
expense of the solid. 

"A brave and pure spirit is worth more than 'half the 
battle,' not only in preparing for life, but in all its con- 
flicts. Take it for granted, there is no excellence with- 
out great labor. Wishing, and sighing, and imagining, 
and dreaming of greatness will never make you great. 
If you would get to the mountain's top on which the tem- 
ple of fame stands, it will not do to stand still, looking, 
admiring, and wishing you were there. You must gird 
up your loins, and go to work with all the indomitable 
energy of Hannibal scaling the Alps. Laborious study, 
and diligent observation of the world, are both indis- 
pensable to the attainment of eminence. By the former, 
you must make yourself master of all that is known of 
science and letters ; by the latter you must know man, 



WILLIAM WIIIT. 377 

at large, and particularly the character and genius of 
your countrymen. You nuist cultivate assiduously the 
habits of reta/ing, thinking, and ohsermng. Understand 
your own language, grammatically, critically, through- 
out ; learning its origin, or, rather, its various origins, 
which you may learn from Johnson's and Webster's 
Prefaces to their large dictionaries. Learn all that is 
delicate and beautiful, as well as strong, in the language, 
and master all its stores can teach. You must never 
be satisfied with the surface of things; probe them to 
the bottom, and let nothing go till you understand it as 
thoroughly as your powers will enable you. When 
you have mastered all the past conquests of science, 
you will understand what Socrates meant by saying, 
that he knew only enough to be sure that he knew 
nothing. Seize the, moment of excited curiosity on 
any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, 
the desire may never return, and you may remain in 
ignorance. The habits which I have been recom- 
niendin"- are not merelv for collejjre, but for life. Frank- 
lin's habits of constant and deep excogitation clung to 
him to his last hour. Form these habits now; learn 
all that may be learned at your university, and bring all 
your acquisitions and your habits to the study of the 
law, whicli you say is your profession : — and when you 
come to this study, come resolved to master it — not to 
play in its shallows, but to sound its depths. Resolve 
to be the first lawyer of your age, in the dej)th, extent, 
variety, and accuracy of your legal learning. Master 
the science of pleading — master Coke upon Littleton — 
and Coke's and Plowden's Reports — master Fearne on 



378 OUATOKS OF THE AMUUICAN REVOLUTION. 

Contingent Remainders and Executory Devises, till 
you can sport and play lamiliarly Avith its most subtle 
distinctions. Lay your loundations deep, and broad, 
and strong, and you will find the superstructure com- 
paratively light work. It is not by shrinking iVom 
dillicult parts of the science, but by courting them, and 
overcoming them, that a man rises to professional 
greatness. There is a deal of learning that is dry, dark, 
cold, revolting — but it is an old feudal castle, in perfect 
preservation, which the legal architect who aspires to 
the first honors of his profession will delight to explore 
and learn all the uses to w'hich the various parts used 
to be put ; and he will the better understand, enjoy, 
and relish the progressive improvements of the science 
in modern times. You must be a master in every 
branch of the science that belongs to your profession ; 
the laws of nature and of nations, the civil law, and the 
law merchant, the maritime law. *.*cc., the charte and 
outline of all which you see in Blackstone's Commenta- 
ries. Thus covered with the panoply of professional 
learning, a master of the pleadings, practice, and cases, 
and at the same time a great constitutional philosophic 
lawyer, you must keep way, also, with the march of 
general science. Do you think this is requiring too 
much ? Look at Brougham, and see what man can Ao 
if well armed and resolved. — You must, indeed, be a 
great lawyer! but it will not do to be a mere lawyer — 
more especially as you are properly turning your mind, 
also, to the political service of your country, and to the 
stuiiy and practice of eloquence. You must, therefore, 
be a political lawyer and historian ; tlioroughly versed 



WILLIAM WIRT. 379 

in the Constitution and laws of your country, and 
fully acquainted with all its statistics, and the his- 
tory of all the leading measures which have distinguished 
the several administrations — you must study the debates 
in Congress, and observe what have been the actual 
effects upon the country of the various measures that 
have been the most strenuously contested in their 
origin. You must be a master of the science of political 
economy, aud especially oi financiering, of which so 
few of our countrymen know anything. 

But it is time to close this letter. You may ask for 
instructions adapted to improvements in eloquence. 
This is a subject for a treatise, not for a letter. Cicero, 
however, has summed up the whole art in a few words; 
it is " apte — distincte — ornate — dicere"-. — to speak to the 
purpose — to speak clearly and distinctly — to speak 
gracefully : — to be able to speak to the purpose, you 
must understand your subject and all that belongs to 
it : — and then your thoughts, and method must be clear 
in themselves, and clearly and distinctly enunciated : — 
and lastly, your voice, style, delivery and gesture, must be 
graceful and delightfiilly impressive. In relation to this 
subject, I would strenuously advise you two things : Com- 
pose much, and ofteii, and carefully ivith refer'ence to 
this same rule, " apte, distincte, ornate," and let your con- 
versation have reference to the same objects. I do not 
mean that you should be elaborate and formal in your 
ordinary conversation. Let it be perfectly simple and 
natural, but alivays in good time, (to speak as the 
musician,) and well enunciated. 

With regard to the style of eloquence that you shall 



380 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

adopts that must depend very much on your own taste 
and genius. You are not disposed, I presume, to be a 
humble imitator of any man. If you are, you may bid 
farewell to the hope of eminence in this walk. None 
are mere imitators to whom Nature has given original 
powers. If you are endowed with such a portion of 
the spirit of oratory as can advance you to a high rank 
in this walk, your manner will he your own. I can only 
tell you that the florid and Asiatic style is not the taste 
of the age. The strong, and the rngged and abrupt, 
are far more successful. Bold propositions, boldly and 
briefly expressed, — pithy sentences — nervous common 
sense — strong phrases — the feliciter audax, both in lan- 
guage and conception — well-compacted periods — sudden 
and strong masses of light — an apt adage — a keen sar- 
casm — a merciless personality — a mortal thrust — these 
are the beauties and deformities that now make a 
speaker the most interesting. A gentleman and a Chris- 
tian will conform to the reigning taste so far only as his 
principles and habits of decorum will permit. We re- 
quire that a man should speak to t/ie purpose and come 
to the point — that he should instruct and convince. To 
do this, his mind must move with great strength and 
power ; reason should be manifestly his master faculty — 
argument should predominate throughout; but these 
great points secured, wit and fancy may cast their lights 
around his path, provided the wit be courteous as well 
as brilliant, and the fancy chaste and modest. But they 
must be kept well in the back-ground, for they are dan- 
gerous allies ; and a man had better be without them, 
than to show them in front, or to show them too often." 



WILLIAM WIRT. 381 

We are not aware that a better code of precepts 
than the above of the same length exists. How far Mr. 
Wirt governed himself by his own rules, will be indi- 
cated, as, in the second place, we proceed to inquire into 
his efficiency as an advocate. 

In his personal appearance, he had much about him 
to propitiate popular favor. He possessed a fine person, 
manners remarkably conciliating, and colloquial powers 
of the highest order. The most casual glance upon him 
in repose or action, impressed the beholder with an in- 
stinctive sg.ise of his superiority. His natural air was 
dignified and commanding ; his countenance was broad, 
open, manly and expressive; his eye was full of fire and 
feeling ; his mouth denoted mingled humor and firm- 
ness; and his whole appearance was truly oratorical. 
His frame was large, but agile ; his nose was Roman, 
his complexion pale and marked with lines of thought; 
his forehead was not high, but broad ; his hair was 
sandy, and his head bald on the top. He had great 
original powers of action, but spoke with a chastened 
dignity uhicii commanded respect bordering on awe. 
Of him it might have been said, as Dryden in his time 
declared of Harte, that "kings and princes might have 
come to him, and taken lessons how to comport them- 
selves with dignity." Wirt's impressiveness resulted 
from the aggregate of a Ciceronian person, a Chatham 
face, the voice of Anthony, and the mental qualities of 
Irving and Bowditch, — a model of grace and a master 
of dialectics, — poetry and philosophy combined. He 
had much of the acuteness of Marshall, and all the in- 
trepidity of Pinkney ; but in his composition, there was 



382 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

no want of fluency, and no insolence or exultation of 
manner. Judgment and imagination lay in the balance 
of his mind in such delicate and equal proportions that 
the scale seldom trembled, and the splendors that en- 
compassed the glorious combination in his mature life 
were never obscured. 

Such an advocate will be heard. The envious and 
fastidious may pronounce him vague, impalpable or dif- 
fuse, and yet all are compelled to listen to him with that 
spell-bound emotion which is always produced by noble 
and harmonious eloquence emanating from an honest 
and impassioned heart. Wirt was not a stranger to the 
popular esteem which such talents command. 
His pathos was refined and thrilling. He could subdue 
all his admirable powers of mind and voice to those deli- 
cate tones which go directly to the heart, like zephyrs 
changed to angelic strains as they traverse iEolian 
strings. Such was his power when he described female 
innocence and beauty abandoned by him who had bask- 
ed in her smiles, and who should have prevented the 
winds of heaven from visiting her too roughly, now left 
"shivering at midnight on the winter banks of the Ohio, 
and mingling her tears with the torrent, which froze as 
they fell." 

" Never tone 
So thrilled through nerve, and vein, and bone, 
His eyebrow dark and eye of fire 
Showed spirit proud and prompt to ire ; 
Yet lines of thought upon his cheek 
Did deep design and counsel speak." 

Those who were familiar with the clearness, melody, 



WILLIAM WIRT. 383 

and flexibility of Mr. Wirt's voice when at the height 
of his fame, and his distinct, emphatic, and unembarrass- 
ed pronunciation, may be surprised to learn that when 
he entered on the practice of his profession, "his utter- 
ance was thick — his tongue clumsy, and apparently too 
large — his pronunciation of words clipping — and, when 
excited by feeling, his voice unmanageable ; sometimes 
bursting out in loud, harsh, indistinct, and imperfect 
articulation." All this he overcame through persever- 
ing cultivation. The miracle of the pebbles performed 
by Demosthenes was repeated in his own person. In 
all his life he was a passionate and persevering votary 
of elocution in the broadest sense of the term. First, as 
to language, as Dryden said, in one of his criticisms, 
" the third happiness of this writer's imagination is elo- 
cution, or the art of clothing or adorning that thought 
so found and varied, in apt, significant, and sounding 
words." But over and above the mere verbiage of his 
spoken thought, he gave great attention to gesture, 
which is the language of the body. " The hands are the 
common language of mankind," said Cicero, and another 
distinguished Roman orator was accustomed to declare, 
that "he was never fit to talk, till he had wai'med his 
arm." So important is a graceful manner in public ad- 
dress, that the prince of ancient rhetoricians laid it down 
as a primary maxim, that "it is this alone that governs 
in speaking ; without which the best orator is of no 
value, and is often defeated by one, in other respects, 
much his inferior." 

"Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant 
More learned than the ears." 



384 ORATOUS OF THE AMEKtCAN REVOLUTION. 

The art with which Mr. Wirt came at length to con- 
ceal his art was consummate — it was carried, perhaps, 
to a (auh. He became so fastidious as to the perfection 
of his oratorical manner that he too sternly repressed 
those natural outbursts of emotion which constitute the 
principal source of eloquence. It required the most 
sagacious eye to detect the artifice, but a master would 
see it — or, we should say, the fault was felt rather than 
seen. What was wanting in his ordinary efibrts, was 
the talismanic power of evoking and controlling the pro- 
founder passions of our nature. Not altogether inappli- 
cable to Wirt is the criticism which an English critic 
applied to Canning, whom we iiave already intimated 
he resembled : " His declamation, though often power- 
ful, always beautifully ornate, never deficient in admira- 
ble diction, was certainly not of the very highest class. 
It wanted depth ; it came from the mouth, not from the 
heart; and it tickled or even filled the ear rather than 
penetrated the bosom of the listener. The orator never 
seemed to forget himself and be absorbed in his theme: 
he was not carried away by his passions, and carried 
not his audience along with him. An actor stood be- 
fore us, a first-rate one, no doubt ; but still an actor ; and 
we never forget that it was a representation we were 
witnessing, not a real scene. The Grecian artist was 
of the second class only, at whose fruit the bi7-ds peck- 
ed; while, on seeing Parrhasius's picture, mew cried out 
to draw aside the curtain " 

But there was no radical deficiency in Mr. Wirt of 
acute sensibility and refined imagination. His mind 



WILLIAM WIRT. 385 

originally was like a prism of a thousand angles, through 
which every ray of thought was made to dazzle the 
spectator with innumerable resplendent beams. In his 
early productions, he resembles the gorgeous bird of 
Juno that exhibits with ostentation its plumage all be- 
decked with emerald, sapphire and gold. When there 
is an excess of rhetorical ornament, the superfluity palls 
on the taste, like a surfeit of honey. Fires that burn 
with steady and perpetual flame are impressive, as well 
as useful ; but one is soon rendered cold and discon- 
tented in the presence of transient coruscations, the 
result of idle pyrotechnic skill, which flash for a moment 
in gaudy hues that obscure the stars, and the next mo- 
ment are lost in the deepened gloom of night. Natural 
and impassioned eloquence speaks in the lucid vernacular 
of all men, and is comprehended by all ; while that which 
is artificial, be it never so polished, is with difficulty 
understood; one recites its formal prettiness on the 
brink of the abyss where truth lies drowning ; the other 
descends with energy and averts her fate. The efiect- 
iveness of poetry and painting consists in their power 
of moving and pleasing; and eloquence, a kindred art, 
is valuable in proportion as it persuades. To insure the 
desired result, the production must possess merits beyond 
those of mere elegance and regularity. Connoisseurs 
never examine the works of the old masters without 
perceiving that they evidently considered the graces of 
execution not as the ultimate end of their art, but only 
as means for displaying excellences of a far superior 
kind. The grand aim of an orator is not to be coni- 
17 



38G ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

mended for the symmetry and beauty of his discourse, 
things that have comparatively httle persuasive virtue, 
but to convince our judgments by the force of his argu- 
ments, and to move our hearts by the pathos of his 
appeals. The sources of these indispensable materials 
must be native to the soul, while art can only supply 
their judicious arrangement and economical use. In 
the highest order of eloquence, the powers of language, 
music and painting are combined; and even this con- 
centration of forces is augmented by the momentum 
which natural emotion and appropriate gesture impart 
to it. We are not so much roused and itiflamed by 
what a great original mind tells us, as by what he en- 
ables us to tell ourselves. No intelligent listener ever 
heard a first rate speaker, without bearing away with 
him the consciousness of abilities he never felt before. 
The oration will seem not to have been very remark- 
able, since it was so natural ; and the hearer who came 
without an idea in his head, goes away quite fluent with 
admirable comments on the theme. The truth is, his 
torpid nature has been vitalized by coming in contact 
with an ardent heart ; his senses have been enlivened, 
his intellect has been invigorated, and the stagnant foun- 
tain of his affections has suddenly sprung up responsive 
to the call of generous sentiments. 

The limited views of persons prejudiced and dwarfed 
in their own character, do not allow them to compre- 
hend that universality of talent which distinguishes 
men of the highest order. When they observe the pre- 
f5ence of the agreeable, they exclude the substantial ; 



WILLIAM WIRT. 387 

when they discover dexterity, agility, and other phy- 
sical graces, they cannot admit, as compatible with 
these, the more severe and effective graces of the mind. 
Persons of one idea, and accustomed to single and ex- 
clusive views, find it hard to credit the historical fact, 
that Socrates, the prince of philosophers, was skillful in 
the dance; they are equally unwilling to believe that 
elegant accomplishments may be intimately associated 
with attributes the most vigorous and profound. Such 
used to be the imputation cast upon Mr. Wirt, but 
nobly, on a memorable occasion, did he repel and dis- 
prove it. The passage is well worthy of careful perusal, 
as it illustrates many of its author's qualities — his ima- 
gination — his fluency — his sarcasm giving force to his 
logic — his noble bearing and indignant eloquence. 

To the insinuating depreciations in which Mr. Wick- 
ham had indulged, in the trial of Burr, Wirt replied as 
follows : " I shall now proceed to examine the motion 
itself, and to answer the argument of the gentlem.an 
who opened it. I will treat that gentleman with candor. 
I will not follow the example which he has set me on a 
very recent occasion. I will not complain of flowers 
and graces where none exist. I will not, like him, in 
reply to an argument as naked as a sleeping Venus, but 
certainly not half so beautiful, complain of the painful 
necessity I am under, in the weakness and decrepitude 
of logical vigor, of lifting first this flounce and that 
furbelow, before I can reach the wished-for point of 
attack. I keep no flounces or furbelows ready manufac- 
tured and hung up for use in the millinery of my fancy, 



388 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

and if I did, I think I should not be so indiscreetly impa- 
tient to get rid of my wares, as to put them off on im- 
proper occasions. I cannot promise to interest you by 
any classical and elegant allusions to the pure pages of 
Tristi'am Shandy. I cannot give you a squib or a 
rocket in every period. For my own part, I have 
always thought these flashes of wit (if they deserve that 
name), I have always thought these meteors of the brain 
which spring up with such exuberant abundance in the 
speeches of that gentleman, which play on each side of 
the path of reason, or sporting across it with fantastic 
motion decoy the mind from the true point in debate, 
no better evidence of the soundness of the argument 
with which they are connected, nor, give me leave to 
add, the vigor of the brain from which they spring, than 
those vapors which start from our marshes and blaze 
with a momentary combustion, and which floating on 
the undulations of the atmosphere beguile the traveller 
into bogs and brambles, are evidences of the firmness 
and solidity of the earth from which they proceed. I 
will endeavor to meet the gentleman's propositions in 
their full force and to answer them fairly. I will not, as 
I am advancing towards them with my mind's eye, 
measure the height, breadth and power of the propo- 
sition, if I find it beyond my strength, halve it; if still 
beyond my strength, quarter it; if still necessary, sub- 
divide it into eighths ; and when by this process I have 
reduced it to the proper standard, take one of these sec- 
tions and toss it with an air of elephantine strength and 
superiority. If I find myself capable of conducting, by 



WILLIAM WIRT. 389 

a fair course of reasoning, any one of his propositions 
to an absurd conclusion, I will not begin by stating 
that absurd conclusion as the proposition itself which 
I am going to encounter. I will not, in commenting on 
the gentleman's authorities, thank the gentleman with 
sarcastic politeness for introducing them, declare that 
they concluded directly against him, read just so much 
of the authority as serves the purpose of that declara- 
tion, omitting that which contains the true point of the 
the case which makes against me : nor if forced by a 
direct call to read that part also, will I content myself 
by running over it as rapidly and inarticulately as I can, 
throw down the book with a theatrical air, and exclaim, 
' just as I said,' when I know it is just as I have not said, 
I know that by adopting these arts, 1 might raise a laugh 
at the gentleman's expense, but I should be very little 
little pleased with myself if I were capable of enjoying 
a laugh procured by such means. I know, too, that by 
adopting such arts, there will always be those standing 
around us, who have not comprehended the whole 
merits of the legal discussion, with whom I might shake 
the character of the gentleman's science and judgment 
as a lawyer. I hope I shall never be capable of such a 
wish, and I had hoped that the gentleman himself felt so 
strongly that proud, that high, aspiring and ennobling 
magnanimity, which I had been told conscious talents 
rarely fail to inspire, that he would have disdained a 
poor and fleeting triumph gained by means like these." 
It is a fine trait in Mr. Wirt, that his mind became 
greatly enriched and chastely splendid, as he advanced 



390 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

in years. His oratorical talent was none the less valua- 
ble for beinsj developed in the vigor of manhood ; like 
the blossoming of the aloe, although long delayed, the 
unfolding of his riper genius was marvelous. At the 
period when ordinarily the animal spirits flag, and fancy 
grows dim, his intellect blazed out, like the sacred flame 
on the altar of the fire- worshipper, at the very moment 
of threatened extinction. In this respect, he resembled 
Edmund Burke, and the most eloquent of the Hebrew 
prophets, Isaiah. He was to the last accustomed to 
invest the most grave and important topics with a 
graceful and charming spirit, and yet he was one of the 
most thoroughly practical men of his da3^ The flowers 
with which he adorned his discourse were as strong of 
stem as they were beautiful and full of odor. The 
results of the most comprehensive and judicious reading 
were constantly poured forth through his pen and living 
voice. Imagination blended with reason and enhanced 
its force. Running through his elaborate masculine 
composition, 

" Its veins like silver shine, 
Or as the chaster hue 
Of pearls, that grace some sultan's diadem." 

He never allowed indolence to "hang clogs on the 
nimbleness of his soul," but by constant struggles 
upward, he " plumed his feathers and let grow his 
wings." Every theme he touched he" adorned. Even 
Burr's infamy was glorified by the oratory whicii 
detailed and avenged it. It is the prerogative of 
patriotic impeachment to perpetuate the memory of 



WILLIAM WIRT. 391 

those who would otherwise soon perish in ignominous 
obUvion. Philip and Catiline, Verres and Hastings, 
owe their most enduring fame to the accident of 
being scathed by the bolts of immortal eloquence. This 
great prerogative Wirt possessed in an eminent degree. 
In original and striking combinations, rich perspectives, 
dramatic groupings, and the happy union of rigid 
argument and elegant illustration, he was hardly excell- 
ed. The secret of this extraordinary power lay in his 
love of research, and fidelity to his profession. 

Says Mr. Southard : " His labor was without limit. I 
know of but one individual (Pinkney) who in this re- 
spect equalled him. They both improved steadily and 
rapidly, to the last moment, as advocates, counsellors, 
and scholars ; exhibiting to the young aspirant after 
fame the true and only road to eminence ; and proving 
to demonstration, the error of the common opinion, that 
the mind attains its usefulness, and vigor, and abund- 
ance, before the age of forty or forty-five; and that the 
struggle afterwards is to maintain its strength and ac- 
quirements, and to use them for the individual and pub- 
lic benefit. Their progress in intellectual wealth, and 
its active use, was at no period more rapid than the last 
fifteen years of their lives." 

The devotion of Mr. Wirt's whole soul to the in- 
terests of his clients was proverbial. A lawyer who 
does not believe in his heart that the man for whom he 
pleads ought to have a verdict, will be very likely not 
to obtain one. His own unbelief will be the first thing 
lodged in the bosoms of the jury, and no perfunctionary 
protestations will remove it. Swedenbourg professed to 



392 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

have seen in the spiritual world a group of persons en- 
deavoring in vain to express a proposition which they 
did not believe ; but they could not, though in repeated 
attempts they distorted their lips with indignation. 

As an instance in which it is well known his private 
friendship gave additional force to his professional 
energy, take the following description by an eye-witness, 
Mr. Thomas. It also illustrates this elegant advocate's 
happy tact in quotation. 

" One of the most interesting cases ever witnessed at 
the Baltimore bar was a trial in a mandamus case, in 
which the right to a church was contested. Mr. Dun- 
can had been established in the ministry, in Baltimore, 
by a number of Scotch Presbyterians, in an obscure 
edifice. His talents drew such a congregation that it 
soon became necessary to build a larger one. It was 
done ; and in the progress of events the pastor preached 
a more liberal doctrine than he had at first inculcated. 
His early supporters remained not only unchanged in 
their faith, but they resolved to have it preached to 
them by one with whom they could entirely agree upon 
religious matters. The majority of the congregation 
agreed with Mr. Duncan. A deep schism arose in the 
divided flock which could not be healed, and which was 
eventually, by a writ of mandamus, carried before a 
legal tribunal. Mr. Taney was counsel for the old 
school side, and Mr. Wirt for the defendants. The 
court-room, during the trial, was crowded with the 
beauty and fashion of the monumental city. It was 
such a display of eloquence, and a full appreciation of 
it, as is seldom witnessed. Mr. Wirt was always happy 



WILLIAM WIRT. 393 

in making a quotation, and in conciuding this cause he 
made one of his happiest. After alluding to the old 
school members, who, it has been said, were Scotchmen, 
and after dwelling upon the tragedy of Macbeth, the 
scenes of which are laid in Scotland, he described their 
preacher as being in the condition of Macbeth's guest ; 
and said, after a stern rebuke upon them, that though 
they should succeed in their cause, which he felt confi- 
dent they would not, they would feel like the guilty thane. 

"This Duncan, 
Hath borne his faculties so meek, halh been 
So clear in his great office, that his virtues 
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against 
The deep damnation of his taking off." 

" The quotation was made with such oratorical effect, 
that there was a deep silence when Mr. Wirt took his 
seat, which was succeeded by repeated outbreaks of ap- 
plause." He gained the case. 

A few words only must suffice in relation to Mr 
Wirt's character as a man. His principles of conduct 
W'ere of an exalted order, guided by strict integrity, and 
crowned by the purest moral worth. He never gave, 
nor willingly received, offence. The querulous, in 
dealing with him, found themselves in the predicament 
described by Dr. Johnson, when he said of Sir Joshua 
Reynolds, that he was one of those men with whom, if 
a person desired to quarrel, he would have been most at 
a loss how to abuse. 

Above all, Mr. Wirt was a humble and consistent 
Christian. He had thoroughly examined the evidences 
of our holy religion and openly became one of its 
17* 



394 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

brightest ornaments. The last acts he performed, on the 
day he was seized with his fatal sickness, were those of 
private and public devotion. It was the Sabbath. He 
lingered a few days in severe physical suffering, and 
then expired in the calm grandeur of triumphant faith. 



CHAPTER XV. 
THOMAS ADDIS EMMET, 

THE ORATOR OF DEEP FEELING. 

Ireland, in its natural features, national spirit, and 
nmoral history, is a land of strange contrasts. Ancient 
sovereignty and modern servitude, the noblest virtues 
and most ignoble vices, intellects of the greatest splen- 
dor and hearts of the warmest affection, alas ! often 
blinded with excess of passion and chilled under ty- 
rannic wrongs, — these are some of her national pecu- 
liarities and mental traits. Her poets are among the 
oldest and the best ; her literati shine brightly amid the 
chieftest luminaries of art and science; her martial 
heroes have never been excelled ; and of her statesmen 
it is enough to say, that for centuries they have been 
what they now are, the mightiest leaders of Parliament. 
While they had national councils of their own, they 
shone supremely in legislative wisdom and justice ; 
when forced into alliance with England, they eclipsed 
the splendors they encountered. The brightest names 
in English literature and generalship, science and juris- 
prudence, are Irish. 

But it is in eloquence, especially, that Ireland may 



396 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

safely challenge the most refined nations of modern 
times. Like all things^ human, it has its faults, some- 
times seen in a superabundance of imagery, and more 
often expressed in exaggerated sentiments ; but its 
merits predominate, and are supassingly grand, in force, 
fervor, passion, imagination and argument. An un- 
broken series of consummate orators illuminate the 
dreary history of injured and abused Ireland, like so 
many pillars of fire. Prominent among these stands 
the name of Thomas Addis Emmet. 

He was born in the city of Cork, in 1765. His 
parents were highly respectable inhabitants of that city. 
At an early age, the son was placed at the University 
of Dublin, and designed by his father for the profession 
of medicine. Having completed his classical course, he 
was removed to Edinburgh, where he pursued his medi- 
cal studies. On the death of his elder brother, who 
was a member of the Irish bar, his parents wished him to 
change his professional studies ; to which desire he as- 
sented. He went to London, read two years in the 
Temple, and attended the courts at Westminster. Hav- 
ing prosecuted his preparatory studies with great care, 
he returned to Dublin, and commenced practice. His 
talents, natural and acquired, were seen to be of a high 
order, and he soon obtained distinction and business. 

It was at this period that a spirit of rebellion against 
regal oppression shook Ireland to the centre. Emmet 
was too ardent in character, and too enthusiastically 
attached to his country to remain indifferent. He 
deeply imbibed the indignant resentment which every 
where prevailed against British connection and control. 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 397 

When, in 1795, the societies of united Irishmen were 
revived, Emmet not only joined them, but soon became 
a prominent leader. Their avowed object was revolu- 
tion, and independence for Ireland. He boldly acted 
as one of the grand executive committee of the socie- 
ties, when they were computed as consisting of at least 
five hundred thousand men. On March 12, 1798, 
he was arrested and committed to prison at Dublin, as 
a conspirator. In July, after a severe confinement, an 
interview took place between Emmet and Lord Castle- 
reagh, at Dublin Castle, and it was agreed that he and 
the other State prisoners should be permitted to go to 
the United States, as soon as they had made certain 
disclosures of their plans of revolution, in respect to the 
alliance which it was supposed had been projected 
between the united Irishmen and France. A memoir 
of disclosures was delivered, August 4th, but all names 
involved were inflexibly withheld. Further examina- 
tions took place, and Mr. Emmet was, as he supposed, 
discharged. Instead, however, of being sent to the 
United States, he and nineteen more were, early in 
1799, landed in Scotland, and incarcerated in a fortress 
of Nairn, called Fort George. This new imprisonment 
lasted three years. At the expiration of that term of 
injustice, pardons arrived for all except Mr. Emmet. 
The governor of the fortress, however, took the respon- 
sibility to release him, when, with his admirable wife, 
who had shared unremittingly his reverses and imprison- 
ment, both in Ireland and Scotland, they were landed at 
Cuxhaven, spent the winter of 1802 in Brussels, and 
that of 1803 in Paris. In October, 1804, they sailed 



398 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

from Bordeaux for this country, and arrived in New 
York on the eleventh of the next month. Emmet was 
then forty years old. He was well qualified for both the 
professions of medicine and law, and hesitated which to 
adopt in the new world ; but his friends induced him to 
resume practice at the bar. His original intention was 
to remove at once to Ohio, but the then governor of 
the "Empire State," George Clinton, prevailed on him 
to settle in New York. By special dispensation, he was 
admitted to the bar without delay, and by indefatigable 
industry rendered doubly efficient by fervent eloquence, 
he rose rapidly to the first rank of his profession. It is 
said that in the course of a very few years^ he was not 
surpassed in business and fame by the most eminent 
lawyers in America. 

Having thus briefly glanced at Mr. Emmet's career, 
up to the time of his landing on our shores, we will 
examine more minutely into his qualifications, his 
personal appearance, his progress in public favor, and 
the peculiarities of his eloquence. 

We have seen that Mr. Emmet was early and thor- 
oughly disciplined in classical erudition and professional 
training at the best institutions of the three kingdoms. 
In every field he explored, he was distinguished for 
patient toil, critical observation, and rapid conquests. 
The variety of his studies, connected with opposite 
professions, probably had a happy effect in liberalizing 
his mind with diversified and comprehensive views. As 
has been already noted, it was the unhappy loss of his 
distinguished and eloquent brother that induced Mr. 
Emmet to abandon the practice of medicine and aspire 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 399 

after forensic glory. He entered upon this career at a 
later period in life than is usual with aspirants after 
excellence in the rugged and thorny path of the law. 
But his maturity was no impediment to ultimate suc- 
cess. His mind had become so well accustomed to the 
generalizations of science, that in about two years he 
reduced the chaotic mass of English law to an organized 
creation. Early in life he had formed the habit of 
recurring to first principles, and this often led him to 
those sources of legal knowledge of which Coke, Hale, 
and Mansfield had drunk. His intellect was naturally 
inquisitive and eager of acquisition ; and his natural 
tastes, as well as cultivated habits, prompted him at the 
outset to lay a broad and firm foundation of general 
jurisprudence, such as is seldom formed by the effemi- 
nate and timid hands of ordinary students. Instead of 
being an injury to him, it was undoubtedly an advan- 
tage of the highest order to have been variously trained 
before he came to make his first efforts at combination 
among the distracting and endless distinctions of law. 
Such would be our inference from the discipline and 
professional success of the first orators of every age. 
Demosthenes, Cicero, Lord Erskine, and Patrick Henry, 
were each about twenty-six years old when they com- 
menced their forensic labors. Sir James Mackintosh 
and Mr. Emmet were still later in their studies, and 
were both for some time educated for another profes- 
sion. But whatever may be our inferences, there can 
be no dispute touching the fact as to Mr. Emmet's great 
and invaluable qualifications for the office he finally as- 
sumed and zealously prosecuted until death. He stored 



400 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

his mind with a profusion of knowledge, profounder and 
richer than was possessed by the great majority of his 
competitors ; and though he was never ostentatious of 
science, it imparted a reach of thought, variety of illus- 
tration, and energy of expression, which, aided by the 
bold and flowing elocution so native to the land of his 
birth, constituted him one of the most agreeable speakers, 
and certainly one of the most powerful lawyers, ever 
heard. 

Mr. Emmet was mainly anxious to be thoroughly 
grounded in the substantial attributes of education, but 
he did not entirely neglect the decorative. He was 
eminently accomplished for the duties of his calling, but 
it was not altogether through his having '•' yellowed 
himself among rolls and records." He had an eye 
voracious of every thing beautiful, and a soul capacious 
for every thing grand. His education was liberal, in 
the noblest sense, — a stupendous, but symmetrical tem- 
ple, "built with the riches of the spoiled world." The 
most eminent lawyers have ever been distinguished as 
devotees of elegant letters as well as for skill in rigid 
dialectics. Lord Hardwicke and Lord Mansfield had 
great fondness for the lighter productions of the imagi- 
nation ; Justice Story is well known to have been a 
poet in temperament, taste, and practice, and so was 
his great master, Chief Justice Marshall. Shiel and 
Talfourd, the two brightest ornaments now living of the 
Irish and English bar, are as distinguished for dramatic 
excellence, as for being learned and brilliant advocates. 
Emmet was skilled in that erudition which is the result 
of long continued and comprehensive studies. From 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 401 

the beginning, and all through life, he mingled constant 
practice with copious acquisition. It was thus that he 
learned to execute with facility whatever duty required 
or his fancy could suggest : " He read to learn, and not 
to quote ; to digest and master, and not merely to dis- 
play." This blending of substantial and ethereal ele- 
ments in the nutriment of his mind, inspired within him 
a vigorous and perennial fountain of impetuous thought. 
He was no mere passive vehicle of inspiration, but an 
active votary who beat out much oil for the sanctuary 
in which he adored. He studied patiently, meditated 
profoundly, investigated minutely, till intuitive and 
acquired knowledge became wedded to his habitual 
feelings, and obedient to its master's call, burst forth 
in every emergency with that invincible and enraptur- 
ing power which rendered him great in the foremost 
rank of men. 

But perhaps the best lessons Mr. Emmet ever learned 
wei'e acquired in the severe school of adversity. Under 
the iron hoof of tyranny, and in dungeon glooms, his 
youthful aspirations had been repelled and his patriot- 
ism scorned. Our best strength is generated in storms 
rather than in the calm. The only spiritual engine 
that can be wielded, so as to make all iniquitous 
powers tremble on their accursed thrones, is that 
which they most fear, an independent and eloquent 
soul. This, and this alone, can arraign all princi- 
ples, and all tyrants before the tribunal of eternal 
right, and its greatest triumphs are always won in 
the sternest conflicts. The waters must have fre- 
quently gone over the soul, before it wins the power- 



402 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ful suppleness to dart with fortitude under the bil- 
lows or float in triumph amid their foamy crests. No 
one will be likely to think either with depth or. precision, 
until he has been made strongly to feel. Like the pre- 
cious gems and varied merchandize cast by wild waves 
upon the strand near which some richly freighted ship 
has been wrecked, — such is the spoil won by reflection 
and stored in the exalted regions of the mind, when the 
tumultuous passions which occasioned the conquest are 
calmed. 

The following sketch of Mr. Emmet's persona! ap- 
pearance is the combination of various outlines from 
different hands. He was of the ordinary height, pos- 
sessing a body compactly formed, and stooping a little 
in the shoulders. He bore a frank and open counte- 
nance, strongly expressive of that native good nature, 
which it is so notorious he constantly exemplified. He 
was somewhat short sighted, but this did not in the least 
diminish the fascination of his clear, bright, blue eyes. 
Justice Story first made his acquaintance when a little 
more than fifty years old. The lines of care were then 
deeply traced upon his face ; the sad remembrances, it 
was conjectured, of past sufferings, and of those corrod- 
ing anxieties which eat their way into the heart. There 
was a pensive air about him, which suggested to the 
observer other solicitudes than those which belonged to 
mere professional life. " He was cheerful, but rarely, if 
ever, gay ; frank and courteous, but he soon relapsed 
into gravity, when not excited by the conversation of 
others." 

But mental stimulus was essential to the development 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 403 

and display of Mr. Emmet's nobler and more command- 
ing traits, as light is necessary to unfold the beauty and 
grandeur of a landscape. When his soul was thoroughly 
aroused, his figure assumed a majestic mien, every mo- 
tion of which was graceful ; an expressive countenance 
was lit up by a sparkling and piercing eye, that almost 
commanded victory, while it " spoke audience ere the 
tongue." While thus invested with the robes of splen- 
did intellect, his person seemed made to contain his 
spirit; his spirit filled and animated his person. His 
look answered to his voice, and both spoke with simul- 
taneous power to the soul. He was crowned with the 
diadem of mental majesty, and stood forth a monarch in 
the realms of eloquence. He sounded the full diapason 
of the human spirit, touched every chord of passion in 
himself and others, and yet, like some tall cliff around 
which the storm roars, with its head reposing in the blue 
serene, he preserved a stern self-control amid all the tumult 
as it raged. He combined the utmost energy with every 
variety of expression. His transitions were rapid, and 
sometimes extreme, but the all-absorbing intensity of his 
feelings forced them into unity and gave them breadth. 
He produced extraordinary effects by a look, a tone, a 
gesture. By nature and consummate art, he was ad- 
mirably endowed for forensic war. He had neither the 
wart of Cicero, nor the stammer of Demosthenes ; he 
had healthful lungs and graceful limbs, melodious tones 
and a hardy soul, revivified by an impassioned organiza- 
tion as vigorously developed as it was rigidly controlled. 
Since there was such a happy coalition of extraor- 
dinary mental and physical qualities in Mr. Emmet, it 



404 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

cannot be a matter of surprise that his progress in 
popular estimation was both rapid and triumphant. In 
1812, he was appointed Attorney-General of the State 
of New York; and, in 1815, began to practice before 
the supreme tribunal at Washington. To succeed in 
this most exalted forum of the nation, requires the ex- 
ercise of the ripest knowledge of jurisprudence and 
the clearest logical acumen. " Before such a bar, as 
adorns that court, where some of the ablest men in the 
Union are constantly found engaged in arguments, it is 
difficult for any man long to sustain a professional cha- 
racter of distinction, unless he has solid acquirements 
and talents to sustain it." But Emmet's success was 
founded on a power superior to the ordinary gifts that 
command popular favor — to undoubted genius there was 
superadded that moral interest which irresistibly com- 
mands the best sympathies of an audience. He had 
conducted himself with such gentleness and dignity 
through all the vicissitudes of adversity, persecution, 
imprisonment, and exile, that every generous heart took 
pleasure in contemplating the splendor of his talents as 
he exercised them without ostentation on the serene 
heights of prosperity and fame. Justice Story pre- 
sents us the following interesting statement in point : 

" It was at this time that Mr. Pinkney, of Baltimore, 
one of the proudest names in the annals of the Ameri- 
can bar, was in the meridian of his glory. Mr. Emmet 
was a new and untried opponent, and brought with him 
the ample honors, gained at one of the most distin- 
guished bars in the Union. In the only causes in 
which Mr. Emmet was engaged, Mr. Pinkney was re- 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 405 

tained on the other side ; and each of these causes was 
full of important matter, bearing upon the public policy 
and prize-law of the country Curiosity was awakened ; 
their mutual friends waited for the struggle with im- 
patient eagerness ; and a generous rivalry, roused by 
the public expectations, imparted itself to their bosoms. 
A large and truly intelligent audience was present at 
the argument of the first cause. It was not one which 
gave much scope to Mr. Emmet's peculiar powers. 
The topic was one with which he was not very fa- 
miliar. He was new in the scene, and somewhat em- 
barrassed by its novelty. His argument was clear and 
forcible ; but he was conscious that it was not one of 
his happiest eflbrts. On the other hand, his rival was 
perfectly familiar with the whole range of prize-law ; 
he was at home, both in the topic and the scene. He 
won an easy victory, and pressed his advantages with 
vast dexterity, and, as Mr. Emmet thought, with some- 
what of the display of triumph. The case of the Ne- 
reide, so well known in our prize-history, was soon 
afterwards called on for trial. In this second effort, 
Mr. Emmet was far more successful. His speech was 
greatly admired for its force and fervor, its variety of 
research, and its touching eloquence. It placed him at 
once, by universal consent, in the first rank of Ameri- 
can advocates. I do not mean to intimate that it 
placed him before Mr. Pinkney, who was again his 
noble rival for victory. But it settled henceforth and 
for ever, his claims to very high distinction in the pro- 
fession. In the course of the exordium of this speech, 
he took occasion' to mention the embarrassment of his 



400 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

own situation, the novelty of the forum, and the public 
expectations, which accompanied the cause. He spoke 
with generous praise of the talents and acquirements of 
his opponent, whom fame and fortune had followed both 
in Europe and America. And then, in the most deli- 
cate and aflecting manner, he alluded to the events of 
his own life, in which misfortune and sorrow had left 
many deep traces of their ravages. ' My ambition,' 
said be, ' was extinguished in my youth ; and I am ad- 
monished by the premature advances of age, not now 
to attempt the dangerous paths of fame.' At the mo- 
ment when he spoke, the recollections of his sufferings 
melted the hearts of his audience, and many of them 
were dissolved in tears." 

We will now enter into a more critical analysis of 
Mr. Emmet's eloquence. It is to be regretted that we 
have neither the space nor ability to present copious 
extracts characteristic of this great orator's composi- 
tion. But few of his happier efforts were ever reduced 
to writing, and almost none are now extant. In this 
respect he much resembles the most renowned of his 
predecessors in the best age of Irish eloquence. No 
full record has preserved to us the rhetorical wealth of 
the fascinating and silvery eloquence of Hussey Burgh. 
Only a few fragmentary remains have come down to 
us of the massive oratory of Yelverton. The reports 
were never full and faithful until the times of Plunket, 
Sheridan, Burke, Curran, Orattan, O'Connel and Shiel. 
The original grandeur of the temple can hardly be 
estimated by a few shattered bricks; but as we wander 
amid the scenes of primitive greatness, and catch the 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 407 

few antique tones that still linger there, we remembei 
that even the shepherds were once melodious on those 
glorious hills, and learned to attune their souls to lofty 
airs on pipes formed of the eagle's wing. 

From all that can now be gathered from Mr. Emmet's 
recorded works, and reputation with cotemporary critics, 
we infer that his eloquence was ardent and national, 
original and graceful, sober and substantial, and always 
studious of the good and the just. 

In the first place, he was evidently full of ardor and 
deep national feeling. The circumstances which devel- 
oped these classes of emotion so strongly in our orator, 
we have already glanced at in considering his early 
life. No doubt he verified most acutely the sentiment 
of Cowper : 

"'Tis liberty alone which gives the flower 
Of fleeting life its histre and perfume, 
And we arc weeds without it." 

In all speakers of the first class, the most predominant 
quality is force. The greatest ability in one who 
addresses a popular audience does not consist in the 
power of plunging deep in science or soaring high in 
poetic inspiration, but in walking firmly on the solid 
earth, swaving the masses of men before him as he goes. 
He must know how to touch and inflame the sympathies 
of mankind, conscious that whatever is not allied to 
these, is foreign to hisf)urpose. His first duty is to be 
understood by all ; and this end he will never attain, 
until he can pour himself into the general heart through 
the channels of deep feeling in language which all 



408 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

mstinctively comprehend. So intimate and sagacious 
are the ties of sympathy which bind all hearts, that the 
most ignorant person will immediately detect the hollow- 
ness of false pathos whenever its imposition is attempted. 
Transitions the most abrupt, and language the most 
extravagant, are sufFerable when listeners are once 
imbued with the fires of sincere emotion, as the smith 
buffets the mass of iron at discretion and with perpetual 
effect when at a welding heat. To take such liberties 
with an assembly on the dead level of ordinary feeling, 
would be something worse than folly. It is much easier 
to compel laughter and weeping in rapid alternation, 
when hearers are once excited, then it is to create the 
slightest ripple of emotion at the first attacks on the 
frigid sea of mind. 

The only true basis of sterling eloquence is severe 
reason : but the imagination is always a grateful accom- 
paniment, and the heart a most powerful aid. Their 
skillful combination constitutes consummate excellence ; 
as the combined attributes of Seraphim and Cherubim 
• — the knowing ones and the loving ones — signalize the 
highest bliss of heaven. Grace and harmony are essen- 
tial to effective speech, since they strengthen the ideas 
of the speaker and give energy to his expression. It is 
a primary requisite that he should invigorate the sinews 
and muscles of his mind, and fortify all the powers of 
will with a masculine firmness; but the articulations of 
bony and sinew strength must be rounded into S3'mmetry 
and beautified with the attractive lines of supple life. 
Pope's description of beauty is equally applicable to 
eloquence. It is not the eye or the brow that we call 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 409 

beauty ; and it is not the exertions of intellect or the 
evolutions of the body, separately considered, that we 
call eloquence, " but the full force and just effect of all." 
When a speaker is deeply absorbed in his subject, and 
pours himself forth in a tide of glowing emotion, the 
awkwardness of his gesture is lost in the fascination of 
his honest feeling, but no artificial elegance of the out- 
side can ever be substituted for the rugged and sincere 
workings of the heart. Emmet, in his better moments, 
wrought in the creation of oratorical armor like a god. 

Some of his paragraphs are the embodiments of the 
most powerful conceptions in the most vivid language 
ever forged in the blazing furnace of impassioned mind. 

Lord Erskine, himself an admirable proficient in elo- 
quence, said in a letter introductory to the speeches of 
Fox, that " intellect alone, however exalted, without 
strong feelings — without even irritable sensibility — 
would be only like an immense magazine of powder, 
if there were no such element as fire in the natural 
world. It is the heart which is the spring and fountain 
of all eloquence." To be efficient in the use of speech, 
one must be himself moved, must be sincere and in 
earnest. Within, the fires of logic, fed by passion, 
must keenly burn ; without, an air of conviction and 
forgetfulness of self, must mantle the speaker and aug- 
ment his power. A cold-blooded retailer of hackneyd 
phrases and empty tro-pes, who contemplates his delicate 
hand as he waves it in effeminate prettiness, and recites 
his pointless periods in tones as insipid as their author*£^ 
spirit, will never attract a crowd and kindle in them 
the healthy excitement of fervid sensibility. A man 
18 



410 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

may convince a few, and even induce many to act, by 
mere reason and argument. But that kind of oratory 
which commands universal admiration, and stamps its 
author a master among men, is never divorced from 
great warmth of conception and manner of expression. 
Passion, when it rouses and kindles the mind, without 
disturbing the power of self-possession, always substan- 
tiates and exalts the associated powers of the mind. 
The fervid inspiration of the heart renders the intellect 
more enlightened, vigorous, penetrating, and imperial, 
than it is in the calm of indifference. Thus prompted, 
the speaker is in no loss for vv'ords, or apt deductions. 
Through the lucid medium of contagious sympathy, he 
transmits to others the glowing sentiments he feels ; 
his looks, tones, gestures, are all persuasive, and nature 
in every such instance, shows herself infinitely more 
powerful than art. 

Eloquence, so far as it is excellent and true, will be 
national — it will be characterized by the most promi- 
nent features of the nation by whom and for whom it 
is produced. Every judicious speaker will consult the 
taste of his audience ; in doing this he will designedly 
or by instinct catch the tone of the inclinations he 
consults, and will shortly come to possess the character 
he has assumed. This law of assimilation is as vene- 
rable as human nature itself, and the recognition of its 
power in forensic life is certainly as old as Cicero. 
Said he, " The eloquence of orators has always been 
governed by the taste of the hearers. He who is de- 
sirous of being heard with approbation, naturally con- 
sults the dispositions of those whom he has to address, 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 411 

and in all respects conforms himself to their will and 
pleasure." Emmet was rocked in the cradle of liberty, 
and grew in one continued struggle for human rights. 
Every faculty he possessed had been tempered in the 
flames af persecution abroad, ere he came to be pro- 
tected and matured by the Genius of Liberty at her 
great western shrine. Providence created and trained 
him for great and noble deeds. 

In the second place, Mr. Emmet was original and 
graceful to an uncommon degree. Originality is one of 
the best traits of Irish eloquence. It is unique both in 
its good qualities and its bad ; it strikingly exemplifies 
the temperament and mental structure of the people of 
the " Emerald Isle." To attain excellence in oratory 
of a high order, originality is pre-eminently demanded. 
The speaker must yield to the potent impulses of his 
own spirit, rather than conform to the cold rules not in- 
digenous to the soul and soil of his father-land. Per- 
severing practice may produce the frigid uniformity of 
a fluent harangue ; but it is only when God's creative 
breath fans the fires of patriotism in the soul sublimely 
endowed, that a true orator is fashioned for sovereignty 
over the hearts of mankind. Mechanism is of great 
utility in reducing powerful elements to practical use, 
but mechanism has no power to create theetherial spirit 
of omnipotence it struggles to employ. 

Originality is not extravagance, nor need one be un- 
couth in order to be strong. Indeed, as Carlyle has 
said, "it is a fundamental mistake to call vehemence 
and rigidity strength. A man is not strong who takes 
convulsion fits ; though six men cannot hold him then, 



412 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

He that can walk under heaviest weight without stag- 
gering, he is the strong man." The most rugged and 
refined qualities were combined in Mr. Emmet's com- 
position. Fervid passions and resistless energies lay- 
folded within him, like latent lightnings in a summer 
cloud; but over these accumulated stores of power, 
affection, "soft as dews on roses," spread a graceful 
mantle, shrouding what on fitting occasions burst forth 
in fire-showers to blast wherever they fell. Like all 
regal spirits of the rostrum, he always excelled with 
greatest certainty where his sympathies were most 
aroused. Marinus, speaking of old Proclus, the com- 
mentator on Plato, says, that " he did not seem to be 
without divine inspiration. For words similar to the 
most white and thick-falling snow, proceeded from his 
wise mouth ; his eyes appeared to be filled with a fulgid 
splendor, and the rest of his face to participate of divine 
illumination." The allusion here is undoubtedly to the 
beautiful description of Ulysses in the third book of the 
Iliad, which is paraphrased as follows by Pope : 

" But when he speaks, what elocution flows ! 
Soft as the fleeces of descending snows 
The copious accents fall with easy art; 
Melting, they fall and sink into the heart." 

Emmet had much of that enthusiastic suavity, — that 
humor combined with pungency so peculiar to his 
countrymen, — that knowledge of human nature, and 
tact in controlling it, which Croly has so graphically 
described as the leading quality in Sheridan : " Of all 
great speakers of a day fertile in oratory, Sheridan had 
the most conspicuous natural gifts. His figure, at his 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 413 

first introduction into the House, was manly and strik- 
ing ; his countenance singularly expressive, when excited 
in debate ; his eye, large, black, and intellectual ; and 
his voice, one of the richest, most flexible, and most 
sonorous, that ever came from human lips. Pitt's was 
powerful, but monotonous ; and its measured tone often 
wearied the ear. Fox's was all confusion in the com- 
mencement of his speech; and it required some tension 
of ear throughout to catch his words. Burke's was 
loud and bold, but unmusical ; and his contempt for 
order in his sentences, and the abruptness of his grand 
and swelling conceptions, that seemed to roll through 
his mind like billows before a gale, often made the 
defects of his delivery more striking. But Sheridan, in 
manner, gesture, and voice, had every quality that 
could give effect to eloquence. Pitt and Fox were lis- 
tened to with profound respect, and in silence, broken 
only by occasional cheers ; but from the m-oment of 
Sheridan''s rising, there was an expectation of pleasure, 
which, to his last days, was seldom disappointed. A 
low murmur of eagerness ran round the house ; every 
word was watched for, and his first pleasantry set the 
whole assemblage in a i-oar. Sheridan was aware of 
this, and has been heard to say, " that if a jester would 
never be an orator, yet no speaker could expect to be 
popular in a full house without a jest; and that he 
always made the experiment, good or bad, as a laugh 
gave him the country gentlemen to a man." Mr. 
Emmet may not have equalled his great countryman 
in the talent of humor and story-telling, but in all the 
more elevated qualities of an orator, he was rarely 



414 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

excelled. Science had well trained his reasoning powers, 
and the graces adorned with their zone every passion 
of his breast. He conceived his argument strongly, 
and having clothed his thought in the choicest phrase- 
ology, 

" He said and acting what no words could say, 
He sent his soul with every lance he threw." 

We remark, thirdly, that Mr. Emmet, as an oratoi-, 
was both sagacious and substantial. Many persons 
doubt that great elegance and utility can be combined. 
It is sometimes supposed that a forensic hero must be 
ugly in order to be useful. If his weapons are polished 
and chastely adorned, however massive, their beauty 
and brightness raise suspicions as to their durability 
and strength. Since gravity is usually the cloak of 
wisdom, the undiscriminating world not unfrequently 
forget that many exceptions exist, where dullness is 
clothed in robes the most demure. Hence the general 
disposition to depreciate any example of uncommon 
brilliancy, as tending to demonstrate by its glowing 
substance, that insipidity and reason are not always 
inseparable companions. Gold is not the less valuable 
when superbly wrought into artistic shapes, elegantly 
burnished and embossed. The solidity of a temple's 
substructure is not weakened by the grandeur of its 
colonnades and the graceful swell of the dome ; nor is 
he the strongest of intellectual beings whose arid reason 
is the only faculty with which he is endowed. The 
power of a well-balanced mind is augmented by the 
energies of the heart and imagination which approxi- 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 415 

mate the prerogatives of omnipresence and unbounded 
love. 

Exuberance of fancy is certainly a defect, but when 
properly employed, it is an attribute essential to an 
orator. Devoid of the ideal which imagination creates, 
the speaker sinks to a mere dry arguer, the most repul- 
sive of public men; the plodding mason, but not the 
inspired architect; he breathes not that divine life which 
imparts to dull matter animation and soul. But Mr. 
Emmet never restricted himself to a narrow range of 
action or thought. He could conciliate attention in 
notes as soft and gentle a? birds "singing of summer in 
full-throated ease ;" or, if necessary, with equal facility 
he assumed the thunderer's attitude and arms, hurlino^ 
down those bolts that "make flexile the knees of knotted 
oaks." In some of his bolder personifications, he some- 
times trod the dizzy verge that marks the boundaries 
of the sublime ; but he trod it like a god. The ballast 
of his intellect gave stability and use to the towering 
sails which deep feeling spread. He had stored his 
memory with noble sentiments, striking images and 
graceful expressions ; and these were rendered effective 
by a perpetual enthusiasm for liberal pursuits, elegant 
letters, and lofty freedom. He did not horde wisdom 
for selfish ends, but to guide the public weal, educate 
the people, elevate the national taste, and conduct his 
adopted country, our glorious republic, to the head of 
the mightiest nations on earth. 

This leads us to remark, in conclusion, that Mr. 
Emmet seems ever to have been studious of the just 
and the good. Justice Story speaks of this, in the 



416 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

following general comments on his character : " His 
mind was quick, vigorous, searching, and buoyant. He 
kindled as he spoke. There was a spontaneous com- 
bustion, as it were, not sparkling, but clear and glowing. 
His object seemed to be, not to excite wonder or 
surprise, to captivate by bright pictures, and varied 
images, and graceful groups, and startling apparitions ; 
but by earnest and close reasoning to convince the 
judgment, or to overwhelm the heart by awakening 
its most profound emotions. His own feelings were 
warm and easily touched. His sensibility was keen, 
and refined itself almost into a melting tenderness. His 
knowledge of the human heart was various and exact 
He was easily captivated by a belief that his own cause, 
was just. Hence, his eloquence was most striking for 
its persuasiveness. He said what he felt ; and he felt 
what he said. His command over the passions of others 
was an instantaneous and sympathetic action. The 
tones of his voice, when he touched on topics calling for 
deep feeling, were themselves instinct with meaning. 
They were utterances of the soul, as well as of the lips." 
No man was better qualified to put a just estimate 
upon Mr. Emmet, than the great and good judge whose 
judgment has just been quoted, and who, alas ! has now 
followed Legare, Wirt, Pinkney, Emmet, Marshall, and 
others, to the great tribunal. Of Pinkney 's great force, 
but lack of feeling, we have already spoken. His 
exhibition sometimes resembled splendid winter scenery, 
gorgeous forests and mountains glittering with sleet, 
and brilliant with innumerable gems, but cold as the 
material of which their beauty was formed. But in the 



THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. 417 

scenes which Emmet evoked, the spectator beheld a 
summer prospect of natural luxuriance and verdure, 
less dazzling, but infinitely more replete with charms. 
His mind was chaste and fair, " as the leaves of the 
spring's sweetest book, the rose ;" and it was destitute 
of no element of either natural or acquired strength. 
His industry was perpetual and elevated. Even amid 
the fires of persecution, like the sacred bush, he burned 
but was not consumed. While imprisoned at the 
fortress in Scotland, be wrote a work on the history of 
his abused country, which was printed in New York, 
in 1807. 

Before Emmet was exiled from his native land, his 
most intimate associate at the bar, and noble rival, was 
Curran, of whom Lord Byron said, that he had spoken 
more poetry than any man had ever written. The 
two young heroes were in many respects alike, and 
both were fine exemplifications of great suppleness com- 
bined with great power to resist. Judge Robinson, the 
author of several stupid, scurrilous pamphlets, on a 
certain occasion cast a sneer on Curran's poverty, by 
the brutal remark that he "suspected his law library 
was rather contracted." " It is very true, my Lord," 
replied the indignant barrister, "that I am poor, and the 
circumstance has somewhat curtailed my library : my 
books are not numerous, but they are select, and I hope 
they have been perused with proper dispositions. I 
have prepared myself for this high profession rather by 
the study of a few good works, than by the composition 
of a great many bad ones. I am not ashamed of my 
poverty ; but I should be ashamed of my wealth, could 
18* 



418 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

I have stooped to acquire it by servility and corruption. 
If I rise not to rank, I shall at least be honest ; and 
should I ever cease to be so, many an example shows 
me that an ill-gained elevation, by making me the more 
conspicuous, would only make me the more universally 
and the more notoriously contemptible." With all such 
burning indignation towards arrogance, tyranny, and 
servile meanness, Emmet profoundly sympathized. His 
private life was irreproachable, and his professional 
career was ever characterized by a noble demeanor, 
patient investigation, and untarnished integrity. As a 
patriot, Mr. Emmet was worthy to take the place he 
has won among the choicest spirits of our race. He 
loved freedom, as his dear brother Robert loved his 
broken-hearted betrothed, to whose father he wrote 
from prison as follows ; " I would rather have had the 
affections of your daughter in the back settlements of 
America, than the first situation this country could 
afford without them." At twelve o'clock on the day of 
execution, the same hand wrote its last lines thus : 

"My love, Sarah! it was not thus that I thought to 
have requited your affection. I did hope to be a prop 
round which your affections might have clung, and 
which would never have been shaken ; but a rude blast 
has snapped it, and they have fallen over a grave. 

"This is no time for affliction. I have had public 
motives to sustain my mind, and I have not suffered it 
to sink ; but there have been moments in my imprison- 
ment when my mind was so sunk by grief on her 
account, that death would have been a refuge. 



THOMAS ADDIS L-^I.AIET. 419 

" God bless you ! 1 am obliged to leave off imme- 
diately. 

" Robert Emjiet." 

The enthusiastic patriotism which allured him to his 
destiny, and fortified him in all the tempest he endured 
of withered hopes and accursed tyranny, enabled him. 
It is said, to write the above lines with composure, and 
immediately after to meet his fate with unostentatious 
fortitude. The two brothers were alike, fearless of 
aristocratic or regal malice, and ready to die at any 
moment rather than be recreant to duty. Such is the 
inspiration which the good and the true imbibe at the 
shrine of righteous liberty. 

In the van of a glorious morn not yet risen to full 
day, Thomas Addis Emmet was dragged from dungeon 
to dungeon, hunted from continent to continent, athwart 
seas and oceans, until he found a safe and honorable 
protection undej- the aegis of America. Here he pur- 
sued a long and glorious career. His death took place 
in the sixty-third year of his age, in a manner some- 
what remarkable. November 14th, 1827, while con- 
ducting an important case at New York, in the 
Circuit Court of the United States, he was seized with 
an apoplectic fit, v.hich put an end to his existence the 
following night. He was thus suddenly cut down in 
the fullness of his virtues, strength, and fame. It was 
only on the day preceding the fatal attack, that he had 
delivered a most powerful address to a jury in a cause 
of the greatest difficulty and importance. The whole 
nation mourned his fall. Precious and splendid tes- 



420 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

timonials immediately indicated the high place he 
occupied in popular regard. Nor was the respect 
thus proffered a transient emotion. In the crowded 
thoroughfare of Broadway, the admirers of genius and 
exalted worth may still be often seen to pause and con- 
template the noble monument to his memory in St. 
Paul's church-yard. 

This perpetuity of admiration mingled with grief, 
comports well with the character of the man we have 
attempted to described. He was as fascinating in pri- 
vate life, as he was splendid in the forum. His manners 
were conciliating and attractive to an extraordinary 
degree, blending the dignity and urbanity of the gentle- 
man with the cordiality and playfulness of the friend. 
Like Hector, setting aside his crested helmet, that he 
might not frighten his boy, he laid aside all perfunc- 
tionary austerities, and put every person in his presence 
at confiding ease. Politeness in him was of the truest 
type, and flowed from its only ti'ue source — a noble, 
warm, and magnanimous heart. For whatever was 
amiable in childhood, or venerable in age — lovely in 
woman, or heroic in man — lofty in principle, endearing 
in friendship, or praise-worthy in enterprise, he had an 
instinctive capacity to appreciate, and spontaneous 
sympathies to embrace. 




JTCDIEIEJ IKA\I^rTT:;crDILTF'IE[, 



CHAPTER XVI. 
JOHN RANDOLPH, 

THE IMPERSONATION OF SARCASM. 

One of the most remarkable men that ever lived was 
John Randolph, of Roanoke. He was born on 2d of 
June, 1773, at Matoax, the seat of his father, three miles 
above Petersburg, Virginia. In his veins were blended 
the aristocratic blood of England and the blood royal of 
primitive America. His lordly bearing, aboriginal de- 
scent, eccentric career and extraordinary eloquence, 
early fastened the attention of his countrymen upon 
him, and through many years engrossed popular regard 
to a wonderful degree. 

The progenitor of the Virginia Randolphs was Wil- 
liam of Yorkshire, England, who settled at Turkey 
Island, on the James River. William married Mary 
Isham, of Bermuda Hundred. Several of their sons 
were distinguished men : William was a member of the 
House of Burgesses, from Goochland, 1740, and Adju- 
tant-General of the Colony. Richard was a member of 
the House of Burgesses, 1740, for Henrico, and suc- 
ceeded his brother as treasurer. Sir John was Speaker 
of the House of Burgesses and Attorney-General. Peter, 



422 OUATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

son of the 2d William Randolph, was Clerk of the 
House of Burgesses and Attorney-General. Peyton, 
brother of John, was Speaker of the House of Bur- 
gesses and President of the first Congress held at Phila- 
delphia. Thomas Mann Randolph, great grandson of 
William, of Turkey Island, was a member of the Vir- 
ginia Convention, 1775, from Goochland. Beverly 
Randolph was Member of Assembly, from Cumberland, 
during the Revolution, and member of the Convention 
that formed the Federal Constitution, and of the Vir- 
ginia Convention that ratified it. Governor of the State 
of Virginia and Secretary of State of the United States. 
Robert Randolph, son of Peter; Richard Randolph, 
grandson of Peter ; and David Meade Randolph, son of 
the 2d Richard, were cavalry officers in the War of the 
Revolution. 

John Randolph, of Roanoke, was grandson of the 1st 
Richard. Many disthiguished families in Virginia, 
including Thomas Marshall, father of the Chief Justice, 
were descended from Randolph of Turkey Island. 

Jane Boiling, great-grand-daughter of Pocahontas, 
married Richard Randolph, of Curies. John Randolph, 
Jr., of Roanoke, seventh child of that marriage, mar- 
ried Frances Bland, and our hero, John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, was one of the children of this union. 

The Randolphs were proud of their patrician blood, 
and named their respective seats with sounding titles of 
distinction ; such as Thomas, of Tuckahoe ; Isham, of 
Dungeness; Richard, of Curies ; and John, of Roanoke. 
Other branches of this famous family had their splendid 
mansions at Turkey Island, Bremo, Varina, Wilton, and 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 423 

Chatswort, venerable localities eagerly contemplated by 
the curious traveller on James River. The crest of the 
arms of the Virginia Randolphs is an antelope's head. 

John Randolph's early education, according to his 
own account, was very irregular. He was sent to a 
country school at an early age, where he acquired the 
rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages. His 
health failing, his mother sent him to Bermuda, where 
he remained more than a year, losing all his Greek, but 
reading with great avidity many of the best English 
authors. After his return to the United States, he was 
sent with his brother Theodorick, to Princeton College, 
where they commenced their studies in March, 1787. 
In the year 1788, after the death of his mother, he was 
sent to college in New York, but returned to Virginia, 
in 1790. In the same year he went to Philadelphia, to 
study law in the office of Edmund Randolph, then re- 
cently appointed Attorney-General of the United States. 
But his law studies scarcely extended beyond the first 
book of Blackstone. He became of age in June, 1794, 
up to which time he appears to have led an irregular, 
desultory life, with a residence as fluctuating as his 
object of pursuit was undecided. 

In Greek literature, John Randolph never was a pro- 
ficient; in Latin he was better read, and quoted its 
treasures with promptness and accuracy. But with the 
best English classics he was thoroughly and comprehen- 
sively acquainted. In his " Letters to Dudley," he 
speaks of his education as follows : " I think you have 
never read Chaucer. Indeed, I have sometimes blamed 
myself for not cultivating your imagination when you 



424 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

were young. It is a dangerous quality, however, for 
the possessor. But if from my life were to be taken the 
pleasure derived from that faculty, very little would 
remain. Shakspeare and Milton, and Chaucer and 
Spencer, and Plutarch, and the Arabian Nights' Enter- 
tainments, and Don Quixote, and Gil Bias, and Tom 
Jones, and Gulliver, and Robinson Crusoe, * and the 
tale of Troy divine,' have made up more than half my 
worldly enjoyment. To these ought to be added 
Ovid's Metamorphoses, Ariosto, Dryden, Beauniont and 
Fletcher, Southern, Otway, Pope's Rape and Eloisa, 
Addison, Young, Thompson, Gay, Goldsmith, Gray, 
Collins, Sheridan, Cowper, Byron, iEsop, La Fontaine, 
Voltaire's Charles XII., Mahomet and Zaire, Rousseau's 
Julie, Schiller, Madame de Stael, but above all, Burke. 
One of the first books I ever read was Voltaire's Charles 
XII. ; about the same time, 1780-1, I read the Specta- 
tor, and used to steal away to the closet containing 
them. The letters from his correspondents were my 
favorites. I read Humphrey Clinker, also, that is, 
Win's and Tabby's letters, with great delight; tor I 
could spell at that age pretty correctly. Reynard the 
Fox, came next, I think ; then Tales of the Genii and 
Arabian Nights. This last, and Shakspeare, were my 
idols. I had read them, with Don Quixote, Gil Bias, 
Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, Pope's Homer, Robinson 
Crusoe, Gulliver, Tom Jones, Orlando Furioso, and 
Thompson's Seasons, before I was eleven years of age ; 
also Goldsmith's Roman History, and an old history of 
Braddock's War. At about eleven, (1784-5,) Percy's* 
Reliques and Chaucer became great favorites, and 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 425 

Chalterton and Rowley. I then read Young and Gay, 
&c. Goldsmith I never saw till 1787." 

Mr. Randolph made his first appearance in public life, 
in 1799, as a candidate for a seat in Congress, and was 
elected. He was indebted to his eloquence for success 
in this early contest, as he was without family influence 
in the district, and was a mere boy in appearance. His 
antagonist was the veteran statesman and orator, Pat- 
rick Henry. The exciting questions which arose out 
of Mr. JMadison's famous resolutions of 1798, were the 
chief matter in debate. On the alien and sedition laws, 
and other exciting topics of that day, the contest ran 
high. An anecdote has been preserved strongly charac- 
teristic of both combatants. Mr. Randolph was address- 
ing the populace in answer to Mr. Henry, when a 
comrade said to the latter, "Come, Henry, let us go — it 
is not worth while to listen to that hoy." "Stay, my 
friend," replied the sagacious patriot, " there is an old 
man's head on that boy's shoulders." 

When he entered Congress, his youthful aspect, 
among other striking traits, attracted universal surprise. 
As he presented himself at the clerk's table to qualify, 
the official demanded his age. "Ask nny constituents," 
was the characteristic reply. 

Mr. Randolph soon became a marked man in the na- 
tional councils. His fearless thought, pungent language, 
withering sarcasm, and general power as a prompt and 
passionate debater, attracted the admiration as well as 
excited the dread of all parties within Congress and 
without. He was frequently chairman of important 
committees, participated in almost all the chief debates, 



426 ORATORS OF THE AMEKICAN REVOLUTION. 

and amid one continued whirl of changes and contra- 
dictions, acted the hero and the bufloon for many years 
on the pubHc stage. 

Let us attempt to delineate his person, analyze his intel- 
lect, and describe somewhat minutely his strange career. 

^ John Randolph was about six feet high. He had 
elevated shoulders, a small head, and a physiognomy all 
the parts of which were entirely unintellectual, except 
his eye. His hair was dark, thin and lank, and lay 
close to his head. His voice was shrill as a fife, but its 
clear shrieking tones could be distinctly heard by a 
large audience. The muscles and skin about his face 
were shrivelled and cadaverous, like wrinkled parch- 
ment ; and his whole form was so attenuated and meagre 
that tall as he was, his acquaintances supposed him not 
to weigh more than a hundred and thirty pounds. 

/ The author of Clinton Bradshaw, w'ho enjoyed a fa- 
vorable oj)portunity of observing this strange being, has 
given us the following graphic description of his person, 
habiliments and manners: "His long, thin legs, about 
as thick as a stout walking cane, and of much such a 
shape, were encased in a pair of light small clothes, so 
tight that they seemed part and parcel of the wearer. 
Handsome white stockings were fastened with great 
tidiness at the knees by a small gold buckle, and over 
them, coming about halfway up the calf, were a pair of 
what, I believe, are called hose, coarse and country 
knit. He wore shoes. They were old-fashioned, and 
fastened also with buckles — large ones. He trod like an 
Indian, without turning his toes out, but planking them 
straight ahead. It was the fashion in those days to 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 427 

wear a fan-tailed coat, with a small collar, and buttons 
far apart behind, and few on the breast. Mr. Randolph's 
was the reverse of all this. Instead of its being fan- 
tailed, it was what I believe the knights of the needle 
call swallow-tailed ; the collar was immensely large, the 
buttons behind were in kissing proximity, and they sat 
together as close on the bi'east of the garment as the 
feasters at a crowded public festival. His waist was 
remarkably slender : so slender that, as he stood with 
his arms akimbo, he could easily, as I thought, with his 
long bony fingers, h-ave spanned il. Around him his coat, 
which was very tight, was held together by one button, 
and, in consequence, an inch or more of tape, to which 
the buttons were attached, was perceptible where it was 
pulled through the cloth. About his neck he wore a 
large white cravat, in which his chin was occasionally 
buried as he moved his head in conversation; no shirt 
collar was perceptible : every other person seemed to 
pride himself upon the size of his, as they were then 
worn large. Mr. Randolph's complexion was precisely 
that of a mummy — withered, saffron, dry, and bloodless, 
you could not have placed a pin's point on his face 
where you would not have touched a wrinkle. His 
lips were thin, compressed, and colorless ; the chin, 
beardless as a boy's, was broad for the size of his face, 
which was small ; his nose was straight, with nothinGT 
remarkable in it, except, perhaps, it was too short. He 
wore a fur cap, which he took off, standing a few mo- 
ments uncovered. Fancy a dead man struck into life 
by lightning, and all his life in his eye, and you have a 
picture of John Randolph." 



428 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

It would be difficult, we think, to present a more 
striking portraiture of one's exterior, than the one we 
have just quoted. A still more difficult task remains to 
present in detail the elements of his mental and rhe- 
torical power. 

Humor, wit, and sarcasm are legitimate and effective 
tools when adroitly used in oratory. There is no 
malignity in true irony. If that which is intrinsically 
absurd, is made to appear ludicrous, when sketched by a 
sagacious master, the ridicule belongs to th-e subject, 
and not to the artist. Bland humor is almost always 
associated with great intellectual strength. Says a 
distinguished Edinburgh reviewer, " Men of truly great 
powers of mind, have generally been cheerful, social, 
and indulgent ; while a tendency to sentimental whin- 
ing, or fierce intolerance, may be ranked among the 
surest symptoms of inferior intellects. In the whole 
list of our English poets, we can only remember Shen- 
stone and Savage — two, certainly, of the lowest — who 
were querulous and discontented. Cowley, indeed, 
used to call himself melancholy ; but he was full of 
conceits and affectations, and has nothing to make us 
proud of him. Shakspeare, the greatest of them all, was 
evidently of a free and joyous temperament ; and so 
was Chaucer, their common master. The same dis- 
position seems to have predominated in Fletcher, Jon- 
son, and their great cotemporaries. The genius of 
Milton partook something of the austerity of the party 
to which it belonged, and of the controversies in which 
it was involved ; but even when fallen on evil days 
and evil tongues, his spirit seems to have retained its 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 429 

serenity as well as its dignity ; and in his private life, as 
well as in his poetry, the majesty of a high character is 
tempered with great sweetness and practical wisdom." 

•But Randolph was not of this stamp. He possessed 
little of that delicate and courteous humor which "gives 
ardor to virtue, and confidence to truth." When irony 
is refined and sparingly employed, it produces a pleasing 
excitement of mind in all who can perceive the sig- 
nificant force latent in every delicate allusion. But 
when those personalities are palpable and poignant, as 
was the custom with Randolph, they leave an irritating 
sting in the wound, which breeds death. The dealer 
in such wares is justly dreaded by all, for it is impos- 
sible to tell who next will be made to bleed under the 
keen dagger of unscrupulous sarcasm. With malignant 
delight, such antagonists occupy themselves incessantly 
in sharpening their arrows, and in pluming them for 
attack. Armed with weapons which, like vipers, though 
small are too deadly to be contemptible, these mental 
dwarfs rendered effective by their venom rather than 
by their reason, scornfully overleap opposing arguments 
which have been elaborated with care, and by sudden 
stings inflict wounds on some sensitive but unguarded 
part, and thus destroy the equanimity of the giant whose 
deductions they cannot subvert. One thus tormented 
by ignoble foes will painfully verify the sentiments of 
Southey's hero : 

" Quick am I to feel 
Light ills — perhaps, o'er hasty : summer gnats, 
Finding my cheek unguarded, may infix 
Their skin-deep stings to vex and irritate : 



430 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

But if the wolf or fovest-boar be nigh, 
I am a\A'ake to danger. Even so 
Bear I a mind of steel and adamant 
Against all greater wrongs." 

Carlyle has said that " true huinor springs not more 
from the head than from the heart ; it is not contempt 
— its essence is love ; it issues not in laughter, but in 
still smiles which lie far deeper. It is a sort of inverse 
sublimity, exalting, as it were, into our affections what 
is below us, while sublimity draws down into our affec- 
tions what is above us." But of this amiable, vivacious 
excellence, Randolph had little or none. His huinor 
was not mere pleasant, pungent railery, but generally 
darkened into ferocious vituperation. He was as fickle 
as the wind, implacable as the storm, and scathing as 
lightning: 

" One of that stubborn sort was he, 
Who, if they once grow fond of an opinion 
They call it honor, honesty, and faith. 
And sooner part with life than let it go." 

Satire, in the person of one who has a shrewd eye to 
observe, and a graphic pen to describe, is a mighty 
agent for good in the literary and moral world. Whose 
heart does not echo back the brief and pungent ex- 
clamation of the prince of dramatists ? 

" Life's a poor player, ■ 
Who frets and struts his hour upon the stage, 
And then is heard no more !'' 

Pope has sarcastically amplified this thought, and, at 
the same time, added a solemn view to the subject : 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 431 

" Behold the child, by nature's kindly law, 
Pleas'd with a rattle, tickl'd with a straw ! 
Some livelier plaything gives our youth delight, 
A little louder, but as empty quite : 
Scarfs, garters, gold, our riper years engage ; 
And beads and prayer-books are the toys of age ! 
Pleased with his bauble still as that before, 
Till tir'd we sleep, and life's poor play is o'er.'''' 

If it is correct to say that a good style resembles the 
crystal of a watch, attracting attention, not to itself, 
but to what is beneath it ; then a judicious infusion of 
the bitter-sweet of humor into the milk of human kind- 
ness in composition, will be an advantage rather than 
otherwise, since it will excite expectation and command 
respect. In the almost universal skill of pedantic dog- 
matism which prevails In modern society, we have little 
of the genuine Socratic irony which once instructed 
Athens and improved the world. Frederick Schlegel 
has a pertinent remark on this topic : " We also find in 
the classical works of antiquity, at a time that depth of 
a loving sentiment was not so generally revealed, this 
same phenomenon amidst the highest spiritual clearness 
and serenity, in the most charming attire of exquisite 
language. I mean that characteristic irony which be- 
longed to the discourses and instructions of vSocrates, 
as exhibited in the Platonic writings. I must here, 
however, observe that this word, in the modern usage, 
has sunk to a degree lower than its original meaning ; 
insomuch, that it now only signifies common mockery, 
and certainly does not fulfil Aristotle's idea, when he 
says that it makes manners gi'acious. True irony is 
the irony of love." 



432 ORATOIIS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

We have endeavored to show that Mr. Randolph was 
greatly deficient in humor ; his wit was more abundant, 
but not more amiably employed. Satire is undoubtedly 
a potent ordnance with which one may " shoot folly as 
it flics." But is it noble to be inclined to ridicule, 
rather than admire, and is that a manly sensitiveness 
which resents a burst of enthusiasm as an oflence 
against the decorum of enlightened society — a fas- 
tidious and effeminate taste which represses all out- 
pourings of generous thought in which glowing passion 
impels the imagination, and exalted sentiment is steeped 
in fancy ? True wit is fearless, frank, and jocund, giv- 
ing and taking hits with equal magnanimity. But 
Randolph was captious, acrimonious, and snarly, never 
sparing his foes, and often dreaded by his friends. The 
scourge with which he unmercifully lashed his victim 
was composed of thongs that cut deeply and left cor- 
roding gangrene in the wounds they made. 

We have seen that humor is the genial oil and wine 
of every festival, without which there is no jovial fellow- 
ship. Wit, on the contrary, is a tart, pungent ingredi- 
ent, much too acid for ordinary stomachs. Its legiti- 
mate use lies in the encouragement of timid merit, and 
the discomfiture of insolence. IMany crude theories and 
impracticable systems are more successfully att-acked by 
ridicule than by reason. Satire, wisely used in the 
promotion of public morals, and even in the defence of 
religion, will do more good than a formal discourse; 
since this sort of remedy is grateful to the popular taste, 
whilst at the same time it imparts reproof and excites 
fear : 



JOHN RANDOLPH. • 433 

"Of all the ways that wisest men could find, 
To mend the age and mortify mankind, 
Satire, well writ, has most successful prov'd, 
And cures, because the remedy is lov'd." 

But we never heard of any one who had a particular 
affection for Randolph's sarcastic wit. His withering 
spirit was not of the kind that sportively would " break 
a butterfly upon the wheel," but a demoniac passion 
that is sure to blast whatever embodiment of beauty or 
strength it scornfully condescends to touch. Had he 
restrained himself within reasonable bounds and subordi- 
nated his great powers to noble ends, he might have 
accomplished an immense amount of good. Shallow 
pretenders to wisdom, and ostentatious charlatans of 
divers sorts infest society, every where prompt only to 
distract and destroy, to unmask the hideous features 
of such, and to deride their boastful meanness, is the 
prerogative of men endowed like the satirist of Roanoke. 
But in painting in vivid and perhaps exaggerated colors, 
the " fears of the brave and follies of the wise," or in 
shipping oiT the disguise of some glittering exterior in 
order to " bare the mean heart that lurks beneath a 
star," his object should be not so much to diminish our 
respect for a particular class of men, as to augment our 
love for all mankind. If the wise reprover of popular 
or personal faults would banish the false glare that 
plays around bold but barren summits, it is only that 
through a clearer medium and over a wider area, we 
may extend our view in the exercise of beneficent 
regards. The most forcible and useful satirists have 
ever been at heart the best-natured men. In them the 
19 



434 ORATOKS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

essence of generosity was much more abundant than 
the bitter ingredient in which, for exaked purposes 
they sometimes dipped their pen, and it is by virtue of 
their kindher elements that their influence continues ahve. 
There are a plenty of "cooing, insipid lack-a-daisical 
moralities" in the world, fair game for the caustic lam- 
pooner, and an occasional scourging at his hand will do 
no harm. There are many popular errors so supremely 
ridiculous that their folly could only be exceeded by an 
attempt to reason them down. "A man might as well 
drag up a forty-two pounder to overthrow a lodge in a 
garden of encumbers. By bringing a grave syllogism 
against a supreme absurdity, we make it more respectable 
than it can be by its native merits. The best thing is 
to knock it over with ridicule.'' I ollies that are fortified 
by fashion ai'e most effectually attacked by turning them 
into burlesque, after tlie style of Don Quixote. This is 
to reform evils without augmenting them. But there 
are other minds, of darker tone, who ever seek matter 
of pleasantry in things serious, and are never contented 
except as they can cause the ridiculous to emanate from 
the sublime. They corrupt, if possible, w^hat is intrinsi- 
cally elevated and pure, by the fantastic medium through 
which they cast their cynical look. But this is the 
cruel gayety of the shallow buflbon, rather than magnani- 
mous satire seasoned with attic wit. Such ignoble 
spirits have neither the disposition nor ability to soar 
in the regions of lofty thought, but their descent is 
facile, clinging to the accessories of things but never 
appreciating their substance. They haunt the domain 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 435 

of moral excellence only as unquiet ghosts, and through 
the bowers of beauty and magnificence drag their loath- 
some slime, not because such regions are most congenial 
to their native tastes, but because they therein find an 
abundance of worth which they are ambitious to degrade 
rather than enjoy. 

Ridicule is a potent weapon in the hands of evil men; 
but principles Avhich are not substantial enough to with- 
stand the basest marauders, even when they employ the 
basest tools, deserve to fall. Plutarch, in his life of 
Fabius Maximus, says, " as Diogenes, the philos-opher, 
when one said, ' They deride you,' answered well, 
'But I am not derided;' accounting those only to be 
ridiculed, who feel the ridicule and are discomposed at 
it ; so Fabius bore without emotion all that happened to 
himself^ herein confirming that position in philosophy, 
which affirms that a xinse and good man can suffer no 
disgrace." 

But that man's sensibilities must have been indeed 
obtuse who did not writhe under the hand of John Ran- 
dolph, and he was, indeed, fortunate who did not long 
bear the marks of his blows. He had the infernal 
power of investing a fair name with ludicrous associa- 
tions as lasting as life. He could at will transfix a 
tender heart with fiery-forked antitheses, or brand his 
victim with scorching epithets that eat like aspics to 
the soul. There are some diseases that will yield to 
nothing but the caustic ; but he would be a terrible 
practitioner who should resort to this remedy in every 
case. Sometimes burning indignation is demanded in 



436 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

reply to tyrannic arrogance; and is the only kind of 
response in which generous and patriotic bystanders can 
sympathize. Such an instance occurs in the history of 
Irish eloquence. The superciHous Fitzgibbon — Lord 
Clare — had made a domineering and unmanly attack on 
Mr. Grattan, in his absence. The eloquent and noble- 
hearted Yelverton immediately replied to the titled but 
base calumniator as follows : " If my learned friend 
were present, the honorable gentleman would take some 
time to consider before he hazarded an encounter 
with his genius, his eloquence, and his integrity. The 
learned gentleman has stated what Mr. Grattan is — I 
will state what he is not. He is not styed in prejudices 
— he does not trample on the resuscitation of his country, 
or live like a caterpillar on the decline of its prosperity; 
he does not stickle for the letter of the Constitution with 
the affectation of the prude, and abandon its principles 
and spirit with the effrontery of a prostitute." 

Randolph had all this energy of contempt, but not 
^always equal suavity of language. When fully aroused, 
he would not condescend to steep his sting in honey. 
He neglected the advice of that courtly gentleman, 
Sir Lucius O'Trigger: "Let your courage be as keen, 
but at the same time as polished, as your sword." He 
would not only cut, but hack and mangle his victims by 
the fierceness of his invective. It was utterly impossi- 
ble either to avoid the laceratinsr edsre of his scathino; 
ideas or be tranquil under the pangs they were designed 
to inflict. Like St. Anselm, he should have prayed 
God to take away obstinacy from his sentiments and 
rudeness from his manners. 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 437 

As a specimen of the unamiableness of his wit, take 

the following : The Honorable Peter , who was a 

watchmaker, and who represented B County for 

many years in Congress, once made a motion to amend 
a resolution offered by Randolph on the subject of mili- 
tary claims. Mr. Randolph rose up after the amend- 
ment had been offered and drawing out his watch from 
his fob, asked the Honorable Peter what o'clock it was. 
The honest and unsuspecting member told him. " Sir," 
replied the scornful orator, "you can mend my watch, 
but not my motions. You understand tictics, sir, but 
not tactics." 

Sometimes he served his purpose with apt quotations! 
which he hurled full of venom at whole bands of antago-' 
nists. His self-control and defiance were invincible. 
Once when beset by almost the whole House in boiste- 
rous debate, he turned to his foes with a look of ineffable 
contempt, and then cried out to the Speaker, " Sir, I am 
in the condition of old Lear — 

" The little dogs and all, 
Trey, Blanche, and Sweetheart, 
See, they all bark at me." 

The power of ridicule is very great, but its habitual 
use by no means indicates a good heart. He who is 
copiously endowed with extraordinary qualities will 
signalize his superiority over common men, by using his 
wit oftener in friendship than in enmity. But John 
Randolph chose to fight habitually with the weapon of 
contempt; a weapon which the malignant gladly substi- 
tute for argument, since it inflicts most pain. He pro- 
nounced ridicule to be the keenest weapon in the whole 



438 ORATORS OF THE AMKKICAN REVOLUTION. 

parliamentary armory, and he learned most skillfully to 
cut and thrust with it, but never played with foils. 
Conflict with him was no sham, but a war to the knife, 
and knife to the hilt. But this is power which ought to 
be despised rather than admired. In the code of Charon- 
dar, at ancient Sparta, public ridicule was assigned as 
the penalty to be inflicted only on the adulterer and 
busy-body, the sycophant and coward. This indicates 
the range such wit holds in dignity, as well as the mea- 
sure of its force. "The ver_v life of such characters," says 
Moore, "is their licentiousness, and it is with them, as with 
objects that are luminous from putresence — to remove 
their taint is to extinguish their light." 

In tender strains of eloquence Randolph never was a 
master. lie had too little generous humor and too 
frigid sensibilities for that. The only time he was ever 
known to attempt the pathetic with success was when he 
moved an adjournment to attend Commodore Decatur's 
funeral. It is said that his expressions of grief on that 
occasion were deep and tragical. He invoked the 
national sorrow for the fall of the brightest star in the 
constellation of our naval glory, and elicited sad notes 
from the Orphean lyre, which might draw " iron tears 
down Pluto's cheek." But the pathetic was not his 
forte. He had not that irresistible inspiration of a 
tender heart which enables its ardent possessor to play 
with the feelings of great multitudes, as Ariel sported 
with Caliban and Trunculo; sometimes diving into the 
billows, sometimes playing in the plighted clouds. He 
had a plenty of fickleness in his character, but no great 
versatility of talent. His imagination was vivid — for 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 439 

much of his life active to a degree of downright insanity 
— but there were few gentle, attractive hues in his 
wildness. His wit was always tinged with sarcasm, or 
debased into gloomy invective. His intellect was bril- 
liant, but its effulgence was borrowed of passions the 
least amiable, ever ready to blast where it shone. As 
he advanced in life, the currents of his heart seem to 
have merged into a single channel, and that ran pro- 
fusely with gall. Irony to intimidate the feeble, and 
invective to harass the strong, were the resources 
most husbanded by him and constantly employed : 

" Like two dark serpents tangled in the dust, 
That on the paths of men their mingling poisons thrust." 

In mental character and manners of speech, Ran- 
dolph, in several particulars, was much like a dis- 
tinguished living statesman of France. A recent 
listener to the latter, describes the scene as follows: 
" At length silence is re-established ; the orator is about 
to speak ; listen, or if your organization is at all delicate 
and musical, begin by stopping your ears, and open 
them by degrees, for the voice you are going to hear is 
one of those shrill, screeching, piercing organs which 
would make Rubini shiver, and give Lablanche a fit. It 
is something equivocal, anomalous, amphibious, neither 
masculine or feminine, but rather appertaining to the 
neuter gender ; and strongly flavored, moreover, with a 
provincial accent. 

" And, yet, this little man, without appearance, with- 
out dignity, without voice, is none other than M. 
Thiers, one of the most eminent personages of the 



440 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 

epoch, and one of the most powerful orators of the 
Chamber. Those shrill lungs emit sounds almost always 
listened to with favor, and often applauded with phren- 
zied enthusiasm ; from that nasal throat issues a flow 
of words transparent as crystal, rapid as thought, sub- 
stantial and compact as meditation itself." 

If the Frenchman and American resembled each 
other in the traits above named, their power of tor- 
menting an opponent was absolutely identical. Con- 
tinues the writer just quoted: "Have you ever seen a 
bull endeavoring vainly to get rid of a gad-fly, which 
fixes itself upon his sides, his eyes, his ears, his nostrils, 
and stupifies the beast with his buzz — the infuriate 
animal bellows, foams, twists, and rolls itself about, but 
unable to free itself from its indefatigable foe, terminates 
the contest by plunging headlong down an abyss?" 
This sketches Randolph to the life. His cynical soul 
fastened itself at different points on his antagonist, like 
a vampire, and the victim was not abandoned till all 
vital blood was destroyed. His attacks had much of 
the condensed bitterness of Junius, and were not often 
more gross. But when most restrained there was still 
a tendency in the evil spirit to escape ; you might hear 
the growls through the thongs of the muzzle. His hints 
and insinuations, accompanied by significant glances 
and sneering tones, were enough to disturb ordinary 
equanimity ; but the withering power of his more direct 
invective was insufferable to the last deeree. 

Of the new Constitution of Virginia, he said, " It 
w^as brought into life with the Sai'donic grin of death 
upon its countenance." In thai expression he has 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 441 

given us the outline and tone of his own portrait. His 
language was pointed and severe, full of condensed fire 
and inhuman energy. His oratory was Spartan in 
brevity and force; his words fell like vipers among his 
hearers, and stung them into fiery excitement. He was 
morbid and morose to excess; but his gloom was volcanic 
heat, ready to explode at any moment and in any direc- 
tion. Suddenly, his stoical nature would become pos- 
sessed as by a demon, and his cold, sinister eye blazed 
with splendid fires, and radiated from his hueless face like 
a wintry sky flashing with lightning. A political oppo- 
nent boasted on the stump, that if his mind was not 
naturally as strong as that of the Orator of Roanoke, he 
had done his best, by an arduous collegiate course, to 
improve it, &c. " Not the first weak soil, gentlemen," 
exclaimed Randolph, interrupting him, "that excessive 
cultivation has reduced to barrenness: — let him stay at 
home — let him lie fallow, fallow." 

We have sketched John Randolph's person and 
mental constitution ; let us now glance at the use he 
made of his powers in his public career. He entered 
public life in 1787. In 1806, he declared open hostility 
to the administration of Jefferson, and from that time 
seems to have quarrelled with every public measure and 
every prominent man. In 1811, those paroxysms of 
insanity began to appear, of which in his Letters to 
Dudley, he says he had a lurking consciousness, and 
which, in the form of hypochondria, was the great 
malady of his life. It was in this year that his Anglo- 
mania developed itself so strongly, which led him on 
the 10th of December so violently to oppose the Avar ; 
19* 



442 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

an opposition perpetually renewed, as on the resolution 
he offered, May 29th, 1812. "That under existing cir- 
cumstances it is inexpedient to resort to war against 
Great Britain." It was in the angry debate connected 
with this resolution that his animosity became fully 
aroused against Mr. Clay. 

In 1822, he visited England, Ireland, and Scotland, 
countries of which he had previously acquired a won- 
derfully minute and correct idea from conversation and 
books. The attention he received abroad was very 
great, his eccentricity was in no way abated, and he 
returned to figure a while longer with aggravated vexa- 
tion on the public stage. 

It is easy to perceive from Randolph's letters, as well 
as from his speeches, that he read immensely, and had 
a strong memory to retain what he had once mastered. 
He was the demon of cleverness. He had almost every 
subject at the very end of his fingers, and could, if the 
fit pleased him, converse admirably on every intelligent 
theme. He had a vast amount of miscellaneous know- 
ledge, but little scientific discipline. He was ready for 
every occasion, could declaim better than any body 
else on every thing, but was elaborate and sound in 
nothing. 

Randolph's most extensive and critical knowledge lay 
in the department of old English literature. Evidently 
he was chaste in language, and exceedingly fastidious 
in the selection of words. He was feudal in taste and 
anti-republican in education. Foreign books, baronial 
castles and ducal pedigrees, filled his imagination and 
formed his manners. By profession, he was a democrat ; 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 443 

in spirit and practice he was an ultra aristocrat. He 
disliked and opposed every administration from Wash- 
ington to Jackson ; in every thing and towards every 
body, he was "a good hater." His tongue w^as "a 
chartered libertine," steeped in the poison of asps, and 
ready to impede any step of popular progress. He con- 
fided in no one, and was distrusted, if not despised by 
all. The curse-book of Pandemonium was condensed 
by him into epigrams and antitheses of malignant con- 
tempt, and hurled like double-headed shot at all whom 
the whim of the moment marked as his foes. He took 
his old books to England to be bound, rather than have 
them repaired north of Mason and Dixon's line, and it 
is believed, with the same hatred of every thing noble 
beyond the contracted sphere which his own contempti- 
ble prejudices had formed, he would have fed his enmity 
at the expense of all the freedom of our land. 

It has been said of Fox's speeches, that " they are full 
of impressive allusions ; they abound in expositions of 
the adversary's inconsistency ; they are loaded with 
bitter invective ; they never lose sight of the subject ; 
and they never quit hold of the hearer by the striking 
appeals they make to his strongest, feelings and his 
favorite recollections : to the heart, or to the quick and 
immediate sense of inconsistency, they are always 
addressed, and find their way thither by the shortest and 
surest road ; but to the head, to the calm and sober 
judgment, as pieces of argumentation, they assuredly 
are not addressed. But Mr. Fox, as he went along, and 
exposed absurdity, and made inconsistent arguments 
clash, and laid bare shuffling, or hypocrisy, and showered 



444 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

down upon meanness, or upon cruelty, or oppression, a 
pitiless storm of the most fierce invective, was ever 
forging also the long, and compacted, and massive chain 
of pure demonstration." 

John Randolph possessed the erratic qualities attributed 
above to the eloquence of Charles James Fox, without 
its higher attributes. He was poorly fitted to rebuke 
inconsistency in others, as of all statesmen that ever 
lived he was most vacillating and inconsistent him- 
self. He was utterly devoid of stability of character. 
His positions were changed so rapidly, that it was im- 
possible to tell where he would next appear, and what 
new mode of attack he would next employ. No public 
man ever frittered away time so uselessly, and expended 
his resources with such abortive aims. " Watch him in 
any one of his set speeches, and it will be a question 
whether in any other spectacle whatever you can dis- 
cover so great a waste of power. Every succeeding 
paragraph has a difterent design from those wiiich pre- 
ceded it; and from the utter confusion and opposition 
of the integral forces, the aggregate energy is destroyed. 
You will see him at one moment sedulously hunting 
with a pack of allies to whom the glow of a common 
hatred has united him, but in the next instant, if a cross 
scent strikes him, he will be found scampering off, in 
hot haste, and will return before long, loaded with the 
trophies of a victory over his own associates. This 
extreme fickleness and oddity doubtless very much con- 
tributed to his success. He kept his hearers in con- 
stant suspense, watching for the next vagary that might 
appear. Like Dean Swift, he would often make a re- 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 445 

mark, much lUve a compliment, and then transform it 
into a sarcasm, or he would abruptly utter a sarcasm, 
and with ambiguous malice qualify it into a comjiliment. 
Those who were most familiar with Randolph's mode 
of debate, were accustomed to take him in a sense 
opposite to his apparent design. If he began by treat- 
ing his' antagonist with unwonted respect, it was easy 
to see that the kindness was unnatural, and that his 
assumed flattery was portentous. His fitiul courtesy in 
the forum was never real, but a hollow air put on for 
the moment, 

" With smooth dissimulation skill'd to grace, 
A devil's ^Jurpose with an angel's face." 

The ample folds of hypocritical complacency with 
which he occasionally condescended to drape his foe, to 
the infinite dismay of the victim, would soon kindle 
into the fierce torture of the shirt of Nessus, and burn to 
the quick. 

Randolph prepared himself for forensic strife in a 
way as peculiar to himself as it was characteristic of 
every thing he attempted to perform. In the first place, 
he made hinaself familiar with the private history, pecu- 
liar temperament, and personal foibles of every man 
with whom he was associated. Then, as soon as he 
conceived the purpose of making a speech, his mind 
went to work to collect, arrange, and prepare his mate- 
rials. Every thing strong and stinging that could be 
wrought into his intended harangue, was carefully can- 
vassed, and if found worthy, was put down in his ran- 
dom notes. But it was only on the point of some 



446 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

epigram, the " sting in the tail" of a sarcasm, as he 
himself declared, that he bestowed especial care. The 
chain of his argumsat was left for thi chances of the 
occasion to forge ; but the perpetual accompaniment of 
ridicule was anxiously and maliciously premeditated. 
He carried these sharpened missiles about with him 
constantly, and if the fitting occasion did not soon 
occur to disgorge himself in public, he would often re- 
hearse his oratorical points in private conversation. 
Says one of his acquaintances, " I remember particu- 
larly the last speech he made in the House of Repre- 
sentatives. He had been waiting the opportunity to 
make it for ten days : and in that interval, I am in- 
clined to think, I heard from him, in private, almost 
every brilliant thought contained in the speech." With 
his wide scope of personal acquaintance, and with his 
habits of prepared onslaught, his rising to address the 
House was a signal for universal dread and commotion. 
Piquant allusions, epigranimatib phrases, malicious 
anecdotes, scornful and withering quotations, brief but 
most excrutiatingly pertinent to the persons before him, 
flew off in every direction like sparks from Vulcan's 
forge, and, like the bolts of Jupiter, shivered wherever 
they fell. He knew the vulnerable part of every cha- 
racter, and often hurt the most when the popular eye 
least saw the blow. It has been v/ell remarked that he 
used his tongue as a jockey would his whip ; hit the sore 
place till the blood came, and there was no flourish or 
noise in doing it. 

Many survive Randolph who remember the aspect 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 447 

he presented in Congress, and the effects he wrought. 
In the language of Wordsworth, he was one of those 

" Dire faces, figures dire, 
Sharp-knee'J, sharp-elbow'd, and lean-anckled, too, 
With long and ghastly shanks, forms which once seen 
Could never be forgotton." 

His tones were as unearthly as his look. His ges- 
ture was chiefly with his long and emaciated finger, 
more like the talon of a vulture than the member of a 
human form. The impressiveness with which he used 
this in debate was proverbial. There was a great deal 
of heedless power and striking caprice in his manner 
of address. He was attractive as an orator, on the 
same principle that the cell in the Jardin des Plantes, 
at Paris, closely glazed and guarded with iron net-work 
without, is perhaps the most popular show-room in the 
world, because it contains the most destructive serpents 
and deadly creatures any where to be found. Ran- 
dolph was a perturbed spirit, and, like Milton's monarch- 
fiend, seems to have thought it " better to reign in hell 
than serve in heaven." He was possessed by the in- 
temperate fury of Diomede, a passionate love of battle, 
which no consideration of subject or place could curb : 

" Creature of one mighty sense, 
Concentrated impudence." 

Randolph formed the acquaintance of a prominent 
bookseller in Baltimore, of whom he made several pur- 
chases, and with whom he was wont freely to converse. 
At a subsequent period, being in Washington with a 



448 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

friend, he saw Randolph approaching him, and proposed 
to introduce his companion to that famous man. But 
his friend decUned, knowing something of the wayward 
hero whose brutal rudeness he did not wish to incur. 
" Well," said the quondam friend and confident book- 
vender, " Fm sorry you will not be introduced. I'll go up 
and give him a shake of the hand, at any rate." Up he 
walked, with familiar air and cordial salutations. The 
aristocratic republican immediately threw his hands be- 
hind him, as if scorning to touch plebeian flesh, and with 
a look as searching as his tones were impudent, exclaimed, 

" Oh, oh ! you are Mr. , from Baltimore ?" " Yes, 

sir," was the reply. " A bookseller ?" " Yes, sir," was 
the second response. " Ah ! I bought books from you V 
" Yes, sir, you did." " Did I forget to pay you for 
them?" "No, sir, you did not." "Good morning, 
sir !" said the cynic, lifting his cap with offended dig- 
nity, and hurrying on. 

It was his custom and delight, in public and private 
life, to deal out the contents of the bitter urn pro- 
fusely. His most moderate style was bitter-sweet ; 
from this he rose or sank into the pure bitter, and if 
the matter in hand was important, and his antagonists 
dignified, he invariably ended with vinegar distilled, 
thickened with deadly drugs. Like the urchin of mis- 
chief in the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," he used fairy 
gifts with a spirit of deviltry, ever prompt to provoke, 
to annoy, and to injure, no matter whom he wounded, 
or when, or where. His personal resentments led him 
away from every consideration, save that of how he 
could best mutilate and silence his adversary. His in- 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 449 

vectives were fearful, not so much from the grandeur 
of his mien, or the dignity of his talents, but from the 
acute.aess of his weapous, and the condensed venom 
they infused. He easily intimidated all but the most 
fearless, and even they were not ambitious of encoun- 
tering him, since it was not a battle with a lion but a 
viper. A distinguished statesman and orator from 
Rhode Island, known as " the Bald Eagle of the House," 
was the only antagonist who effectually silenced this 
forensic Thersites after his own manner. When this 
gentleman publicly rendered thanks to God that in 
anomalous creatures there is a physical law which pre- 
vents the perpetuation of their own species, the allusion 
would have been too atrocious if directed against any 
one besides John Randolph. 

He was not indifferent about the selection of his 
victims, but with a choice husbandry of his resources, 
he seemed to take special delight in setting up the fairest 
personages as a target for his wit-bolts. And whoever 
he pounced upon found the process no holiday sport. 
Before ordinary harlequins of the forum, dignified 
personages might composedly sit, " wrapt in rich dull- 
ness, comfortable fur," consoling themselves with the 
remark of Shakspeare, " If a man will be beaten 
with brains, he shall wear nothing handsome about him." 
But not so in the presence of Randolph. When sum- 
moned to the rack, the candidate for torture was bound 
to go and have his vitals torn by demon vultures. Con- 
tempt, says an oriental proverb, pierces even through 
the shell of a tortoise ; one needed a panoply strong 
indeed to shield him from the pei-sonal javelin hurled by 



450 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Randolph's hand. He labored most earnestly to impeach 
Judge Chase, but failed in his effort, and came out of the 
contest without a single laurel. 

It would be unjust to deny that Mr. Randolph possessed 
great powers of eloquence of their kind. He could 
hold an audience for a long time enthralled by his speech. 
Speaking of his own opposition to the Bankrupt Bill, he 
said, "How delighted I am to think that I helped to 
give that hateful bill a kick — yes, sir, this very day week 
I spoke for three hours against it, and I assure you 
that whilst I was speaking, although the northern mail 
was announced, not a single member left his seat to 
look for letters, a circumstance that had not occurred 
during the session!" But he had more talent than 
courtesy or self-respect. He contemplated the suffer- 
ings he produced with as much complacency as the 
artist who wished to delineate the agonies of martyrdom, 
and studied the contortions of the shrieking model on a 
rack. In some of his better inspirations, there are 
beautiful gleams of truth, impressed in graceful and 
energetic language, "like orient pearls at random 
strung ;" but ordinarily his snatches of truth wear an 
infernal aspect, and convulse us with dread, without 
touching the finer chords of the heart. 

"The flesh will quiver where the pinchers tear, 
The blood will follow where the knife is driven." 

Some persons combine in themselves the attributes of 
the toad and the salamander; they imbibe no aliment 
from earth but its poisons, and they breathe naturally 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 451 

only in fire. They are of tiie class described by Burke, 
in allusion to the French Revolution. " They have 
tigers to fail upon animated strength. They have 
hyenas to prey upon carcasses. The national menagerie 
is collected by the first physiologist of the time ; and is 
defective in no description of savage nature. Neither 
sex, nor age — nor the sanctuary of the tomb, is sacred 
to them." 

John Randolph was the Sagittarius of the American 
(congress, " armed at point," and letting fly on all occa- 
sions his dart with terrific power. He was king Seapin, 
and could at any moment invest his subjects with the 
air and honors of infinite contempt. Whenever he saw 
fit to level his long, ghastly finger, at the head of any 
one, with the ominous shrill cry of "Mr. Speaker!" — it 
was the signal for all the risibles in the house to relax, 
and the prelude of roars of laughter at the poor victim's 
expense. The famous " Yazoo claim," was for many 
years a bone of contention, annually defended by 
Randolph in a series of speeches, which some think are 
destined to " stand the test of time, of scrutiny, and 
of talent." Battling one day against some of the 
strongest men of the nation, he made the withering 
remark which at the time rung all over the union. 
Shaking that claw-like finger of his in Ihe face of his 
opponents, he exclaimed, " Mj\ Speaker, I hope, sir, to 
see the day when a Yazoo claimant and a villain, will he 
synonymous terms." 

The best scholars of our universities, the first leaders 
in our State legislatures, and the master-spirits in every 



452 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

walk of forensic gladiatorship, trembled at the necessity 
of a rencontre with John Randolph on the floor of 
Congress. He was always ready to meet every new- 
comer and at once to annihilate his pretensions, or 
cover him with disgrace. However potent their talents, 
and however righteous their cause, they needed to keep 
in mind the caution addressed of old to the Archangel : 

" I forewarn thee, shun 
His deadly arrow ; neither vainly hope 
To be invulnerable in those bright arms, 
Though temperd heavenly; for that fatal dint, 
Save Him who reigns above, none can resist." 

Undoubtedly a brilliant flame burned amid the attenu- 
ated and deranged fibres of Randolph's intellect, but it 
did not quicken his pulse, nor kindle his frigid nature into 
genial warmth. His sarcasms were as stinging and 
adhesive as the burr or nettle that annoys the lover of 
quiet nature in his woodland rambles. He not only 
smote his victims with blows that keenly kill, but like 
the Levite described in the Bible, he cut the carcass 
into fragments and scattered them to the winds. Rude- 
ly to attack and savagely to demolish was his vocation. 
What Burke said of the Constituent Assembly of 
France, in the days of her phrenzy, was eminently true 
of John Randolph : " He could not build — he could only 
pull down — he was the Vitruvious of ruin. In vain 
shall we search for any memorial that attests any bene- 
fit resulting from the influence of his life. He is the 
parent of no law, the author of no treatise, and the 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 453 

buildei- of no valuable institution. If his nanae was not 
written in water, it was inscribed in darker hues on the 
memory of mankind. 

Aristophanes and Juvenal were feared while alive, 
but the worthies whom they ridiculed were the only 
ones destined to receive posthumous esteem. To mu- 
tilate the monuments that gratitude has erected to 
genius, and so extinguish the lamp lighted by devotion 
over against the imag-e of love, can be the ambition of 
no tender heart or exalted intellect. If it is disgraceful 
thus to dishonor the dead, it is something worse to de- 
stroy the peace and deface the fair character of the 
living. He who shall make this the business of his 
life, must hereafter expect the retribution which the 
malignant can never escape. A man in Bengal was 
long distinguished for skill in humbling the tiger. His 
adroitness in the chase won him much agreeable ex- 
ercise and reputation. A length he came near losing 
his life by his daring, and relinquished the sport with this 
remark, " Tiger hunting is very fine amusement, so 
long as we hunt the tiger ; but it is rather awkward 
when the tiger takes it into his head to hunt us." The 
tiger at length turned upon Randolph, and held him 
awfully at bay. 

In the spring of 1824, he repeated his visit to Eng- 
land; and, in 1830, -was appointed Minister to Russia, 
where he remained but a short time. On the 20th of 
May, 1833, Mr. Randolph came from Virginia to Phila- 
delphia, on his way to New York, where he intended 
again to embark for Europe in search of health. It was 



454 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

here that the melancholy drama of his life came to a 
solemn close, as described by his physician, Dr. Parrish. 
"For a short time he lay perfectly quiet, his eyes were 
closed, and I concluded he was disposed to sleep. He 
suddenly roused from this state, with the words 'Re- 
morse, Remorse. ' It was twice repeated ; at the 
last time at the top of his voice, evidently with great 
agitation, he cried out, ' Let me see the word.' No 
reply followed : having learned enough of the character 
of my patient to ascertain, that when I did not know 
exactly what to say, it was best to say nothing. He 
then exclaimed, ' Get a dictionary — let me see the 
word.' I cast my eyes around me and told him I be- 
lieved there was none in the room. ' Write it down, 
then — let me see the word.' I picked up one of his 
cards from the table, ' Randolph of Roanoke,' and 
inquired whether I should write on that. ' Yes, nothing 
more proper.' Then with my pencil I wrote Remorse. 
He took the card in his hands in a hurried manner, and 
fastened his eyes on it with great intensity. 'Write it 
on the back,' he exclaimed. I did so, and handed it to 
him again. He was excessively agitated at this period 
— he repeated, ' Remorse ! you have no idea what it is, 
you can form no idea of it whatever ; it has contributed 
to bring me to my present situation ; but I have looked 
to the Lord Jesus Christ and hope I have obtained par- 
don.' He then said, 'Now let John take your pencil 
and draw a line under the word ;' which was accord- 
ingly done. I inquired what was to be done with the 
card; he replied, 'Put it in your pocket; take care of 
it ; when I am dead look at it.' 



JOHN RATCDOLPH. 455 

"This was an impressive scene. All the plans of am- 
bition, the honors and the wealth of this world, had 
vanished as bubbles on the water. He knew and he felt 
that his very moments were few, and even they were 
numbered." In a few hours after this scene, on the 23d 
of May, 1833, John Randolph was dead. His remains 
were removed to Roanoke and there, in a lonely dell, 
amid venerable trees, without a monument, without an 
epitaph breathing affection, and with not even a fra- 
grant shrub planted in the arid soil to indicate the 
remembrance of some friendly hand, in solitude and 
neglect his dust awaits the resurrection morn. 

John Randolph at one time was regarded, and per- 
haps still is by some persons, as the prince of American 
orators. We have no disposition to depreciate his 
merits, nor would we uncharitably "draw his frailties 
from their dread abode." We leave him in the hands 
of the benign sovereign of all, without the slightest desire 
either to aggravate his faults or pronounce their doom. 
In this review of his career we have to do with his 
character only as an orator, and not with his eternal 
destiny. Viewing his merits in the light of his public 
deeds, we think that if an apotheosis is to be granted to 
him at all, it should be in company with such men as 
Warren Hastings. Speaking of the latter, Burke said 
that he knew something of the Brahmins. He knew 
that as they worshipped some gods from love, so they 
v/orshipped others from fear. He knew that they erect- 
ed shrines not only to the benignant deities of light and 
plenty, but also to the fiends who preside over small- 
pox and murder. Nor did he at all dispute the claim 



456 ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

of Mr. Hastings to be admitted into such a Pantheon." 
Perhaps the moral sense of enhghtened nations, estimat- 
ing a man's claims to perpetual esteem according to 
the beneficent influence of his life, will assign to John 
Randolph a like position in the temple of righteous fame. 



THE END, 



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